[A8C] Concept Libraries and Accelerating Learning
A newsletter on frameworks, tools, and questions for accelerated learning, identifying asymmetric opportunities, finding leverage, and tracking technologies that will shape the world of tomorrow
Short Question About the Future
What are the biggest problems that exist today, that you or someone else could solve today if you had 1000x more compute at your disposal (at same marginal compute cost)?
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Short Essay: Personal Concept Libraries & Accelerated Learning
Ever felt the Information Overload hit you hard? You’re not the only one
I’m currently deep in the field of AI, and the rate of innovation is beyond anything I think I human can actually keep up with
But the race to keep up I experience now is very similar to what I experienced university, when trying to get ahead of the pack in advanced Engineering courses while at the same time juggling a ton of activities and interests
Back then, I would try to hack this by starting out the academic year reading only the final exam paper from last year in each class
My process was simple:
Start with the final exam or most advanced material
Identify only the completely unfamiliar terms or concepts in the final questions
Build a curated list of these "knowledge gaps"
Focus study time only on mastering the high-impact concepts
I started calling these lists “concept libraries”, and I started building several of them depending on the topic
(I was specializing in Robotics Engineering, working in Finance during the breaks, while at the same time juggling startup-ideas, so the topics of these concept libraries were quite broad)
It was a matter of efficiency
Competition among the students in my class was brutal
To have any chance at the top of the leaderboard, I needed to maximize my learning in the limited time that I had (there were also more than a few distractions outside the lecture theatre)
Building concept libraries was the way I managed to focus only on the most high impact concepts- the ones I didn’t already know
“Can I explain this concept to a peer?”
”No?”
”Ok, on the list it goes”
”Does it come up on exams regularly?”
”Worth a deep dive”
It wasn’t about neglecting the basics – it was about prioritizing what moved the needle most.
Keeping up with Technology Concepts
This approach isn't just for acing tests. In today's fast-paced tech world, the challenge to stay ahead of the pack is very much the same
My concept libraries therefore have evolved into a pretty useful career tool as well
I’ll regularly scour articles, papers, videos, clips - whatever the Internet throws at me, to identify new knowledge gaps
If I see a term once, it’s not important.
If it occurs repeatedly or in a critical context, I pay attention and add it to a Concept Library
I will regularly review these notes, seeing if patterns emerge, concepts relate, and which concepts are the most important for the problems I am trying to solve
An accelerant for intentional and accidental discovery
A library of tech concepts is not only useful for making sure you stay on top of things.
For me, it’s become:
An idea generator
A problem-solving accelerator
A tool for connecting seemingly unrelated fields
It often serves as my accelerant when I get stuck
What’s the Asymmetry of a Personal Concept Library?
Quite often, even complex new tech is built from fundamental concepts you’ve come across in the past
Example: Generative AI is complex, but you can break it down into most of the Linear Algebra, Statistics, Vector Math, etc. that you probably learnt in high school
Today, I have loads of these concept libraries, all classified by categories (artificial intelligence, science, engineering, finance, economics, health, history, etc.)
They all help me not only keep track, but to focus on identifying the concepts that really matter
I’ve also found that learning one really advanced concept generally unlocks a lot of other concepts I didn’t really understand before
What techniques do you use for staying on top and getting ahead in a new field? Please share your strategies & tricks either in the comments or DM me!
A Recommendation
I see the acceleration of Computing Power as a major accelerator for our next technological and, frankly, civilizational steps. Computing Power is not just the fuel for innovations such as Cloud and Artificial Intelligence, it is the directional driver. “The Coming Wave” explores some of the implications we might be facing as our Power of Compute continues to scale
For other recommendations (mainly books & articles), there is more content on my website
About the Author: Working at the interface between frontier technology and rapidly evolving business models, I work to develop the frameworks, tools, and mental models to keep up and get ahead in our Technological World.
Having trained as a robotics engineer but also worked on the business / finance side for over a decade, I seek to understand those few asymmetric developments that truly shape our world
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