11. Secrets of Memorization, Flow, and Rapid Learning with Lucas Miller

“Figure out the basics of a skill, focus on a specific element, push out of your comfort zone, and get feedback.” - Lucas Miller

In this episode of Nat Chat we have Lucas Miller. I found Lucas through Max Friedman, who came on for episode 5, since Lucas used Max’s platform GiveButter in order to crowdfund his book Beyond Brilliance.

As a student, Lucas went deep on the science of learning and memorization to figure out how he could rapidly accelerate his learning and make college effortless. No small feat considering he was attending UC Berkeley.

After realizing how useful his learning hacking tactics were for himself, he and a small team combined their knowledge on learning and productivity into Lucas’s book Beyond Brilliance which you can find on Amazon or on his site at beyondbrilliance.org.

We covered:

Practical strategies you can use to learn anything Effective techniques for memorization, and which ones you should discard The usefulness of adding variety while you’re training certain skills The science of flow states and how to get into them Lucas’ efficient note taking method you can utilize while reading

Please enjoy, and reach out to Lucas on Twitter!

Find Lucas Online:

Lucas’ Twitter Lucas’ Medium Beyond Brilliance

Mentioned in the show:

GiveButter Anki App Pomodoro technique Evernote Berkeley University

Books mentioned:

Beyond Brilliance (Lucas’ book) Moonwalking With Einstein (Nat’s book lessons) Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin The Power of Habit (Nat’s book lessons) Mastery (Nat’s book lessons) Thinking Fast and Slow The Paradox of Choice (Nat’s book lessons) A Mind for Numbers

People mentioned:

Max Friedman Tim Ferriss Malcolm Gladwell Anders Ericsson Ryan Holiday Maria Popova

1:31 - Intro to Lucas, his philosophy on our traditional school infrastructure, him speaking on optimizing learning, and him speaking on his book: Beyond Brilliance.

4:21 - Lucas’ techniques for attaining optimal memorizing ability, him on how to learn things efficiently, and useful tools you can use for studying.

11:48 - Lucas’ thoughts on what a perfect study system would look like, him speaking on the value of experimentation and sleep for learning, and the experiments that gave him the best results for improving studying potential.

23:09 - Lucas speaking on what the flow state is and the best way to get into it for optimal performance.

28:37 - Lucas’ qualms on the 10,000 hour rule for learning new things and speaking on what you should do to master things.

34:30 - Lucas on how beneficial reading can be for improving skills and Lucas detailing his efficient note taking system.

39:52 - Lucas’ technique on how to pick the best books to read.

41:06 - Which books Lucas would recommend to the incoming students at Berkeley.

45:04 - The biggest mindset shift Lucas had about education and learning.

47:02 - Lucas speaking learning from his favorite failure and what he is currently working on.

50:33 - Wrap up, some pieces of advice from Lucas on learning and education, and where to find Lucas online.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe at https://nateliason.com/podcast