Mark

“Because I had a “hook to hang” the lesson on—which, in this case, was the information I googled—I could chunk multiple pieces of data into one working memory “slot.” And that, in turn, meant my working memory could hold on to more information”
― Jessica McCabe, How to ADHD: An Insider's Guide to Working with Your Brain

“We Can’t Remember What We Don’t Understand The process of encoding information into long-term storage requires our brains to compare new information with what we already know and then figure out where to file it. For this to happen, we need to rely on our working memory to hold all of this information long enough for it to happen. If the new information is easy for us to understand and related to a familiar subject, the encoding process can be quick and easy. If, on the other hand, we have no clue what someone is talking about—possibly because we missed or didn’t encode the foundational knowledge well enough—we may not have enough time for this process to take place. Before our brains are able to encode it, new information comes in and bumps it out of our working memory.”
― Jessica McCabe, How to ADHD: An Insider's Guide to Working with Your Brain

“Sticky notes aren’t great assistants. Sticky notes do, however, make fantastic assistants to your assistant. Think of sticky notes like short-term memory. They’re great for holding on to important information for a little bit of time, but if you want that information to stick around (hehe) it helps to encode the information into long-term storage (e.g., your calendar).”
― Jessica McCabe, How to ADHD: An Insider's Guide to Working with Your Brain

“A very simple but particularly useful technique for finding the cause of a problem is simply to explain it to someone else. The other person should look over your shoulder at the screen, and nod his or her head constantly (like a rubber duck bobbing up and down in a bathtub). They do not need to say a word; the simple act of explaining, step by step, what the code is supposed to do often causes the problem to leap off the screen and announce itself.[7] [7] Why "rubber ducking"? While an undergraduate at Imperial College in London, Dave did a lot of work with a research assistant named Greg Pugh, one of the best developers Dave has known. For several months Greg carried around a small yellow rubber duck, which he'd place on his terminal while coding. It was a while before Dave had the courage to ask....”
― Andrew Hunt, The Pragmatic Programmer