Book Review: A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra) by Barbara Oakley

I finished listening to A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra) by Barbara Oakley. A perfectly nice book to have a conversation about how to study. The book’s content is applicable to any field of research. I would have liked to know the tips in it when I was at university. For example, priming your brain for upcoming information sounds self-evident after reading the book. You do that by glancing through the chapter before starting to read. It is more useful than rereading the chapter over and again. And highlighting, do not even bother with.

This wasn’t a completely useless book for me despite already having earned my diploma. I found a way to help a slump I was having with my writing. The advice of studying in 25-minute sessions and giving full uninterrupted attention to it shouldn’t be difficult for anyone. So, I tried it. It worked, I have been getting more writing done. More than when I tried to sit in front of my computer several hours straight. Now, I can spread those 25 minutes throughout the day and be happy with myself. Hurrah for me and thank you to Oakley and her book!

The only drawback of the book is that there are no easy answers to your questions. No miracle formulas to make you suddenly amazing at math and science, just tools to help you help yourself. I guess that would be cheating in life, which is supposed to be hard, character building, and not about cookies.