Bottle of Lies

Cheery Friday Greetings to our Learning How to Learners!

Book of the Week 

Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom, by Katherine Eban. We picked this book up after noticing that a minor prescription drug we were switched to—a generic—just didn’t seem to work right. What an unexpectedly eye-popping thriller!  You’ll learn about the hands-off ineffectiveness and incompetence of the FDA, the infectious nature of corrupt corporate cultures committing global fraud, and of the sometimes completely ineffective nature of life-saving drugs.  If you or anyone you know takes, or will take, generic drugs, you should read this book.

An Amazingly Detailed Animation of the Brain

Don’t miss this beautiful animation of the human brain, using some of the most powerful imaging techniques available. [Hat tip, French LHTL Lead Nicole Charest.]

A Video Review of Learning How to Learn

Daniel Bourke took LHTL and made a delightfully entertaining and comprehensive video review. Enjoy it here, and pass it along to your friends.

If You’re a Procrastinator

We find that LHTLers, apparently like people everywhere, often have big issues with procrastination. So here’s a long article about procrastination by the ever hilarious Tim Urban, should you desire to procrastinate further… [Hat tip, Martin Yong.]

Newest science myth: the 10,000-step rule

Fitbit wearers often work diligently to achieve 10,000 steps a day. If this is the case, you might be interested to learn that the 10,000 step guideline was apparently made up by marketing gurus—it has no basis in science.  Instead, it looks like 4,400 to 7,500 steps might be a reasonable goal.  

Yet Another Article on the Myth of Learning Styles

Even if you’re amongst the cognoscenti who already know that learning styles are problematic, this article gives a nice overview of the many problems in this area. [Hat tip, Orlando Trejo.]

A Learner’s Story

Gurpreet Paul, a high school senior at Apeejay School Faridabad, India, writes: “It’s been one year since I’ve taken ‘Learning How to Learn’ and since then, my life has changed drastically!

“From being a person who used to hate math and the intricacies of sciences to a person having a deep sense of appreciation for its proofs, laws, and theorems. For me, “Learning how to learn” was more than just a course! It was a WAKEUP CALL! Also, with the help of Khan Academy; the years of frustration and hours of crying over my inability to understand STEM-related subjects had just come to an end.

“But on seeing my classmates and juniors going through the same challenges, there was an inner burning desire for spreading knowledge which I had acquired, which was something I had never felt before. As months passed, I emerged as a new individual, who didn’t want someone else to suffer through the same as I did. By starting a new club in my school, where I used to go through the content of each lecture in Hindi; there was that satisfaction of finally doing something worthwhile in life and that moment when your juniors look up to you as an inspiration is something which I couldn’t have EVER gotten without Learning How to Learn!”

A School that Dances

If you want a happy send off for the week, don’t miss this video of Chinese principal Zhang Pengfei leading his school in a dance.

That’s all for this week. Have a happy week in Learning How to Learn!

Barb, Terry, and the entire Learning How to Learn team

• Get the course recommended text, A Mind for Numbers!
• And Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens. Great ideas for parents, too!
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