I think a lot about the process of learning, both in my experience and when I am teaching others. I find learning to be a fascinating topic, because it’s what lets us improve and become better at a variety of tasks, skills, and subjects. I’m also interested in the difficulties that are present when learning. In particular, are there things we should do or avoid while trying to learn?

Can you construct a right cone that has a height of 4, a radius of 3, and a slant height of 6?

When making work that’s important to you, it’s tempting to focus on improving your best work. After all, when you think of your work, that’s what first comes to mind. (You don’t think about the mediocre work.) Therefore, it makes sense to focus on that.

We all like new things. It’s exciting to try a new activity, to do something we’ve never done before. It breaks us out from the usual rhythm of our lives. A novel activity ends up looking much more enticing than the regular activities you usually do.