Applied Learning

Trying to learn things without being able to apply them can be very ineffective.

I’ve "learned" at least half a dozen programming languages I never ended up using on a regular basis. I did not retain what I learned (and I suspect my understanding was mostly surface-level since I didn’t write programs beyond the exercises).

(But the languages I use on a regular basis are practically muscle memory for me.)

I also struggled to learn mathematics on my own until I started writing a ray tracer.

This also ties into The Phenomena of the Game Manual.

See also: