The Radical Child

A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science by Barbara Oakley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I investigated this book as a resource for improving my learning techniques since, as a freshman quadragenarian on the autism spectrum, I still struggle with education and memory issues. The main point of Barbara Oakley’s book is to condense critical ideas to hold them more effectively, with various simple, effective, efficient techniques researchers know about how to learn. The target audience is high schoolers who love art and English classes but struggle in math. However, in grade school and college, I had more difficulty with English while excelling in math; art is still among my lifetime passions that I still exercise today.

Oakley describes mathematics as taught in American schools as a “saintly mother of a subject,” indicating that she needed to retrain her brain, designed to perform extraordinary mental calculations. The focused mode of thinking is critical to studying math and science, utilizing a direct approach to problem-solving with rational, sequential, and analytical means. Diffuse-mode thinking occurs when one relaxes their attention and allows their mind to wander, which can help one glimpse the “big picture” of certain subjects. Both modes of contemplation need strengthening to learn about and become more creative in math and science.

Diffuse mode can distract learners from problems and allow access to the brain’s big-picture approach to solving problems. The diffuse mode helps one learn at a deep creative level, but accepting the first idea that comes to mind when working on assignments or tests can prevent you from finding a better solution. Resting whenever tired is also a prime opportunity to recharge the mind, with various modes of “chunking” able to enrich learning. Recalling material rather than passively and repeatedly rereading it can increase the focus and effectiveness of study time. Not understanding a concept or method allows one to work through it backward.

Oakley dedicates a chapter to procrastination, terming it an addition and indicating that we tend to procrastinate about things that make us uncomfortable. Mental contrasting is a tactic to counter procrastination, where one contemplates where they are and what they yearn to achieve, focusing more on process than product. When working on math and science problems, each completed step signals the next step to you, where recalling material helps you learn it more effectively than simply rereading it. Weekly, writing a list of primary weeklong tasks can transform distant deadlines into daily ones, with a timer, pen, and paper being significant steps in deterring procrastination.

The advice to study before bedtime comes up, with Oakley noting that several steps are necessary for something to move from working memory to long-term memory. An idea should be memorable, repeated, and written to encode it more deeply in your mind. Working alongside fellow students who grasp content more quickly than you can also be advantageous, but average students can also have their advantages. The author mentions the father of neuroscience, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, and that we can significantly change our brain by altering how we think.

One can further develop the mind through equation poems, with the personification of abstract ideas in our brains aiding in learning math and science. Oakley adds that many are not natural genii, that successes like Bill Gates were college dropouts, and that qualities that distinguish one from others can be advantageous. She emphasizes the power of teamwork, notes that one should start examinations with the most challenging questions (and move to others after a minute of being stuck), and that they can reshape their brain, with patient persistence being the key, and working knowledgeably with your brain’s strengths and weaknesses.

Overall, I found Oakley’s book to be illuminating and helpful regarding improving one’s ability to learn new material effectively. Some analogies are clever, like her constant reference to zombies and visualizations of them and sometimes animals. The real-life success stories are inspirational additions, along with tips on how to learn if with ADHD, which spoke to me as an autistic. The bolded text also helped emphasize which points throughout the book to focus on, and the study tips were also helpful. Thus, I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking to improve their learning capabilities.

View all my reviews