I am an aspiring autodidact in math who’s having motivation issues and would like to identify their cause. I’ve been, embarrassingly, stuck at basically the same high-school, introductory level for a few years now in all of the material I’ve begun studying so far, and this is because I’ve been studying with a frequency ranging from one week per month, to once every three months or something. My chosen study methods are slow and thorough.
I often feel frustrated about the material I’m studying, and find it rather tedious. I suspect that one reason for this is the fact that I’m a freshman undergrad in a STEM field, so I’ve already gone through all of what I’m studying now and more (albeit more superficially), have been acquainted with more difficult math and would really like to get into the meat of things—however, I’m aware that I don’t have a solid grasp on the basics and need to practice even the easy exercises until it becomes second nature to me.
I often wonder whether my struggles with finding the motivation to go through my textbooks are an ordinary part of the life of people who eventually overcome them (through better study plans, or increased conscientiousness or whatever) and go on to become good mathematicians, or whether it just means that I’m simply naturally disinterested in math, and will always be so, and consequently I’ll never raise above the level of a mediocre STEM undergrad. I mean, if I were cut out for math, then I’d be naturally curious and enthusiastic about studying it, right? Or at least I’d have the conscientiousness / work ethic to study diligently even when it doesn’t feel exciting. So far none of these conditions apply; does it mean that they never will? (I expect this feeling of tediousness to go away once I start to become good at college-level math. But maybe there’s a selection effect at play here: only people who are naturally good at math master the undergrad level; people who naturally suck at math give up by the end of high school.)
I’ve also noticed that my lack of motivation is not domain-specific: I fail to habitually study every other field I’ve ever meant to study. In fact, I’ve been comparatively successful in studying math (and, to a lesser extent, physics and programming). This leads me to thinking the issue is a lack of study habits. The funny thing is that I constantly—habitually, even—fret about lacking study habits, yet so far (3 years or so) this has never translated into the instillation of said study habits.
Have any LessWrongers had similar issues and managed to overcome them?
For introductory math, I’ve enjoyed the Art of Problem Solving series. I too prefer the slow and thorough method of study, and these books are really comprehensive.
For myself, I’ve found that the best study motivator is to attend a class on the subject, even if that means paying for it. In fact, paying for it is an extra motivator to do the necessary work.
I’m actually in a very similar situation to you. Several of the links above were provided by Jonah Sinick over at Cognito Mentoring. I’m in the middle of an email conversation with him and he’s been very helpful.
Yes, I have had similar issues and I can’t say that I did manage to overcome them successfully, but I’m committed to continue, and I’m in the middle of reorganizing my life so that I could direct more resources there.
Thanks for the reply. I’ve tried just about any productivity technique except for Beeminder, which I’m fairly sure just isn’t the right tool for me for a number of (financial as well as psychological) reasons. I’ve read The Willpower Instinct and a few other books on the topic. I’m currently looking into nootropics and neurochemistry as a last resort, more precisely dopaminergics, more precisely selegiline (I seem to fit the profile of someone who’s generally low on dopamine, but I don’t know for sure); modafinil too, for focus reasons.
The results have led me to think that I have positively affected plenty of areas of my life, except for the one I originally set out to improve, i.e. studying. Maybe I’m doing that wrong; maybe copying down entire textbooks is tedious as well as disheartening.
I am an aspiring autodidact in math who’s having motivation issues and would like to identify their cause. I’ve been, embarrassingly, stuck at basically the same high-school, introductory level for a few years now in all of the material I’ve begun studying so far, and this is because I’ve been studying with a frequency ranging from one week per month, to once every three months or something. My chosen study methods are slow and thorough.
I often feel frustrated about the material I’m studying, and find it rather tedious. I suspect that one reason for this is the fact that I’m a freshman undergrad in a STEM field, so I’ve already gone through all of what I’m studying now and more (albeit more superficially), have been acquainted with more difficult math and would really like to get into the meat of things—however, I’m aware that I don’t have a solid grasp on the basics and need to practice even the easy exercises until it becomes second nature to me.
I often wonder whether my struggles with finding the motivation to go through my textbooks are an ordinary part of the life of people who eventually overcome them (through better study plans, or increased conscientiousness or whatever) and go on to become good mathematicians, or whether it just means that I’m simply naturally disinterested in math, and will always be so, and consequently I’ll never raise above the level of a mediocre STEM undergrad. I mean, if I were cut out for math, then I’d be naturally curious and enthusiastic about studying it, right? Or at least I’d have the conscientiousness / work ethic to study diligently even when it doesn’t feel exciting. So far none of these conditions apply; does it mean that they never will? (I expect this feeling of tediousness to go away once I start to become good at college-level math. But maybe there’s a selection effect at play here: only people who are naturally good at math master the undergrad level; people who naturally suck at math give up by the end of high school.)
I’ve also noticed that my lack of motivation is not domain-specific: I fail to habitually study every other field I’ve ever meant to study. In fact, I’ve been comparatively successful in studying math (and, to a lesser extent, physics and programming). This leads me to thinking the issue is a lack of study habits. The funny thing is that I constantly—habitually, even—fret about lacking study habits, yet so far (3 years or so) this has never translated into the instillation of said study habits.
Have any LessWrongers had similar issues and managed to overcome them?
For introductory math, I’ve enjoyed the Art of Problem Solving series. I too prefer the slow and thorough method of study, and these books are really comprehensive.
For study motivation, try the Akrasia Tactics thread, as well as these posts.
For myself, I’ve found that the best study motivator is to attend a class on the subject, even if that means paying for it. In fact, paying for it is an extra motivator to do the necessary work.
I’m actually in a very similar situation to you. Several of the links above were provided by Jonah Sinick over at Cognito Mentoring. I’m in the middle of an email conversation with him and he’s been very helpful.
Yes, I have had similar issues and I can’t say that I did manage to overcome them successfully, but I’m committed to continue, and I’m in the middle of reorganizing my life so that I could direct more resources there.
I’m not offering any specific advice for now, beside the obvious: http://www.sparringmind.com/changing-habits/, http://www.sparringmind.com/productivity-science/, but I’m responding here to start the dialogue and to nudge us both in the right direction.
So yeah, I wish for you to untangle your motivations and follow through.
Thanks for the reply. I’ve tried just about any productivity technique except for Beeminder, which I’m fairly sure just isn’t the right tool for me for a number of (financial as well as psychological) reasons. I’ve read The Willpower Instinct and a few other books on the topic. I’m currently looking into nootropics and neurochemistry as a last resort, more precisely dopaminergics, more precisely selegiline (I seem to fit the profile of someone who’s generally low on dopamine, but I don’t know for sure); modafinil too, for focus reasons.
The results have led me to think that I have positively affected plenty of areas of my life, except for the one I originally set out to improve, i.e. studying. Maybe I’m doing that wrong; maybe copying down entire textbooks is tedious as well as disheartening.
How does your case sound like?