I finally finished reading “The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy”. This book has a wide breadth of knowledge that will help with Jeopardy. As I read the book, I couldn’t help but think I would not remember most of these facts. After some quick googling, I came across the Cone of Learning, which suggests you only retain knowledge of 10% of what you read. There is some debate on this percentage. Whatever the percentage of knowledge retention from reading is, this is not the best way to retain knowledge.
How I’m Planning to Use Ultralearning to Conquer Jeopardy!”
“Ultralearning” is a book by Scott Young about an aggressive, self-motivated approach to learning.
1. Meta-learning: Charting My Course
Before diving headfirst into a sea of facts, I’m taking a step back. I plan to analyze past Jeopardy! categories, identifying my strengths (science, sports) and weaknesses (literature, religion).
Next, I’ll set specific goals. Instead of aiming for a vague “general knowledge boost,” I’ll target specific categories and aim to answer 80% of questions correctly.
I’m not sure of the best way to find trivia questions by category to test my knowledge. I wish there was an easy way to pull questions by category at the https://j-archive.com/. I will experiment with a few websites that have trivia by category.
2. Direct Learning: Deep-Dives
While broad knowledge is helpful, depth is key to Jeopardy! success. Instead of skimming through countless articles and playing trivia, I am choosing to do deep dives into books. I will probably not get the exact answer on Jeopardy that I encounter playing trivia. I’ll focus on building a mental model of each subject, connecting seemingly disparate facts into a coherent framework. This will help me understand the “why” behind the “what,” making recall much easier.
3. Retention
Testing yourself is one of the best ways to retain knowledge. My primary focus will be converting what I read into flashcards to test myself. This is a recommendation in the “Ultralearning” book and I have heard many Jeopardy contestants say they have utilized flashed cards.
I also want to make this fun, so engaging in games with my kids will be another way I test myself.
4. Feedback
Feedback is important to gauge progress and identify areas of weakness. I will regularly test myself on categories to see if I am reaching the 80% mark of questions answered. Also, I will keep score as I am watching Jeopardy.
5. Focus
As I have a job and four kids, I do not have quite the time Scott Young devoted daily to his Ultralearing projects. I plan to study for Jeopardy ten hours a week including watching at least one episode of Jeopardy daily. I commute three days a week on a train to work, so that is a perfect time to do some studying. One tool I like to use to fight procrastination is the Pomodoro technique.