jimrandomh comments on MIT Challenge: blogger to attempt CS curriculum on own - Less Wrong

8 Post author: komponisto 27 September 2011 11:01PM

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Comment author: EchoingHorror 28 September 2011 03:54:27AM 3 points [-]

From what you wrote in Holistic Learning about the use of genius and innate talent to explain away successful learning, I think we agree that anyone without some relevant disability who is in a stable environment with access to the right resources should be able to do the same, and will after we learn how to teach how to learn. By "unimpressive," I mean "what one would expect, given what the wide distribution of mental skill levels and effort made by people who complete 4-year university says about its actual difficulty and the probable level of skill and effort of the 'productivity hacking' person doing it." You are comparatively impressive, and a very special snowflake.

Are you buying the textbooks/ finding your own? Just using the video lectures (and internet for removed sections) seems unbearably slow, and you aren't in nearly as much control over the flow of information.

Comment author: jimrandomh 28 September 2011 12:26:09PM 0 points [-]

Are you buying the textbooks/ finding your own? Just using the video lectures (and internet for removed sections) seems unbearably slow, and you aren't in nearly as much control over the flow of information.

When I was watching Khan Academy's lectures, I got good results from VLC player's time dilation; it speeds up the video and adjusts the audio's pitch to compensate, so you can adjust the pacing. I experimentally determined 1.8x to be the right speed for me, though that will depend on you, and on whose lecture you're watching, and some of the time saved should probably go into pausing the video strategically to digest things.

Comment author: ScottHYoung 29 September 2011 12:37:33AM 1 point [-]

Yes--for my pilot course I went around 1.5-2x, strategically speeding up and slowing down. Lectures are way more efficient when you can fast-forward and rewind.