200th Post: How to Get Super Smart While Being a Lazy Fuck

KennyPowers

KennyPowers

Motherfucking fastball
Jul 2, 2010
484
14
0

WickedFire has always been good to me. Hence, thought I'd finally give back. Been a great time here so far. Thanks!



The following is a method that I've used for the past 4 years and had a lot of success with.

Basically it is a mixture of modified gamification + audio learning.

For those of you that don't know what gamification is, here's a quick wikipedia read: Gamification - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The concept revolves around providing game-like rewards in non-game situations. The problem I have with that is that non-gaming is fucking boring and no matter how many Duolingo stars you give me, I simply won't give a fuck.

Hence, I devised a scheme which allows me to consume an insane amount of content while also getting to enjoy the psychological effects of video games.


Here's how it works:



#1: Get audio content that's worth consuming.
​

First know what content you should consume. I read recommended books and also like to look at amazon sales ranks, reviews, etc. Just keep in mind that reviews can be manipulated, filter trash, and eventually find a good resource in the category you're searching.


BOOKS​

I've gotten to the point where I buy audiobooks straight from Amazon, but for those of you that don't have money, here's a few sites:

https://thepiratebay.se/browse/102
demonoid.ph

Supposedly thevault is good, but I never got an invite.

Google searching for books is also relatively good. You typically need to convert these into audio which I'll describe later. The way I do this is by taking an excerpt from a book, writing it in quotes on google, and then at the end including "filetype: pdf". (Get rid of the space in quotes. If I combine the colon with the p, WF creates this stupid shit :p) Half the time I'm able to find the pdf of the book I'm looking for, convert it to audio, and consume.


VIDEOS​

Here's what I like to consume:
Mixergy - Business tips for startups by proven entrepreneurs -- Subscribe. Well worth the money. If you're cheap then download everything they have and save it.

Ted Talks: TED - YouTube

Foundation with Kevin Rose: http://www.youtube.com/user/kevinrose/videos

OTHER VIDEOS: Conferences videos are good. Prepackaged video courses are also. Try to download these videos on torrent sites. These typically run up to $3,000 for certain conferences, so fuck paying for that.


PODCASTS​

This is a must for anyone in any sort of tech business: http://ecorner.stanford.edu/podcasts.html

Download all of them. Consume as much as you can.

Other than that, there's countless niche specific podcasts you can find on iTunes. Go through the top ones. Find something you like and follow.


OTHER CONTENT​

There's obviously other good content out there. Find it. Consume it.





#2: Find a game you enjoy that doesn't take too much brain power.
​

I like to blow shit up and play GTA V.

I also enjoy Civ and sports games.

From my experience, non-multiplayer games are best. However, if you go the multiplayer route, then keep in mind that you might have to listen to content twice. Multiplayer games typically require more attention.




#3: Use an audio player that allows you to adjust speed.​


I use VLC player: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html. It lets me adjust the speed precisely to where I want it.

I typically keep the speed between 1.5x and 2.75x.

1.5x is for when the speaker talks relatively fast and includes a lot of detail.
2.75x is for slow college lectures without too much detail.

Test different speeds for each piece of content and find the sweet spot for consumption.

I find that at faster speeds I learn a lot more overall than at slower speeds. It's basically like speed reading for your ears. If the content comes in at the pace that your brain processes then you'll be able to retain more. Plus, let's say you listen at 2x, then you can go over the same content twice in the time it took someone to go over once.


#4: Combine the two. Here's what will happen...​


Now that you have your content and you have your game, it's time to combine the two. Start playing your game while listening to your audiobook, podcast, or whatever. From my experience the following happens:

1. I'm able to listen attentively.

You never realize how much mindless thinking goes on in video games until you start listening to audiobooks during.

2. I feel a sense of achievement.

The accomplishments that I get from the video games usually don't mean shit. Typically, there are chemical reactions going off in my brain which makes me think that I'm achieving something. "Oh, just passed another mission? Fuck yeah! Life is awesome." By just playing a video game, these achievements are meaningless. However, by making a better use of my time I actually am achieving something - learning content and becoming smarter.

Contrary, listening to an audiobook alone I don't get a sense of achievement. I feel like I'm wasting time, get easily distracted, and drop the audiobook.

By combining the audio with the game, I get the chemical reactions and the real life achievement that I want.

3. I create a memory palace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci

This is considered to be one of the best techniques for memorization. I can tell you first hand that using my method will help implementing this technique. For example, if you mention the Steve Jobs biography, I can bring up details by thinking of different parts of the GTA map.


#5: Conversion Technique. ​

Here's a conversion technique that my friend uses:

1. Get books from http://lib.freescienceengineering.org/ or utorrent & pirate’s bay
2. Convert book to .rtf at docspal.com
3. Chunk book into chapters and make each a google doc
4. Google doc → file → publish to web → shorten link via goo.gl
OR save as PDF
5. Paste the shortened link on top of the doc OR save the PDF in a drive folder you name after the book
6. Use Spritz or Voxdox to create free speed reading / listening [need published to web to speed read; PDF or published page works for Voxdox].

The above is free.

I recommend buying a paid program for converting text to speach, but the above works too.


#6: Conclusion. ​

Fucking try it. If it sucks, come back in this thread and talk shit. If it works, please leave likes and add feedback for further improving mind hacking.

Thanks for reading!

​
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tobias Funke


Steve Jobs biography eh. The one important part is that if you get cancer, maybe take the doctors advice.

If you want to be super smart, here's my advice. Don't take advice from someone who is anything but super smart.

Since you offered the challenge. Look up your gta map what Jenny McCarthys stance is on vaccination.
 
Eh. Unless you are in deep concentration, reading is typically more mentally stimulating than passively listening . I'd wager someone who reads all day would be way more knowledgeable than someone who just listens to or watches shit
 
Don't be upset brah. They don't like jubilee posts here. I think you still are cool guy.

:drinkup:
 
BQQQErA.jpg
 
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K1RcKJVbHA"]Gilbert Gottfried Reads Fifty Shades of Grey - YouTube[/ame]
 
Just to add to the conversion technique:

1) Open PDF in Adobe Reader

2) Go to -> View -> Read Out Loud

3) You can record the voice on your computer and convert it to an .mp3 to put on your
iPod, or whatever

To adjust the voice speed, gender, or to make it sound less like a robot, go to:

Edit-> Preferences -> Reading
 
Thanks for giving back to the community. It never crossed my mind to listen to anything while frittering my life away playing video games. Now I won't feel quite so guilty about it!
Very cool method.

And I love the thing about the Memory Palace which I can use in conjunction with your method.
Usually when someone asks me about a part in a book, I just think about that part of the book, but now I can think about where I was in Vice City.

"Hey, do you know what happens to Lennie in Of Mice and Men?"

"Um... 'Keep on Loving You'... Starfish Island.... 4 Stars... Fucked up twenty two people... crashed my Faggio into a hooker.... got it! Lennie died"
 
Tangible said:
Eh. Unless you are in deep concentration, reading is typically more mentally stimulating than passively listening . I'd wager someone who reads all day would be way more knowledgeable than someone who just listens to or watches shit
Click to expand...

Reading is hard as fuck, bro. This is about being lazy as fuck and still learn something.
 
Tangible said:
Eh. Unless you are in deep concentration, reading is typically more mentally stimulating than passively listening . I'd wager someone who reads all day would be way more knowledgeable than someone who just listens to or watches shit
Click to expand...

Everyone is different. Whenever I want to learn something, I'll get an audiobook and go for a walk or workout. I get fidgety when I'm sitting and reading. Call it ADD or whatever, but when I'm reading, I'm not really absorbing the material, I'm more or less, scanning the text and then realizing that I haven't absorbed anything. I think I've developed a bad habit.
 
This really could be one of the coolest thinking patterns I've seen here or anything I've come across in NLP. Some of you might know, I practice in NLP, modeling is a big thing of mine. Especially when it can be used in business / personal change.

We all have different representation systems and it's really cool to see OP take a weakness and turn it into a strength/benefit. I only call it a weakness because of the lazy bit. Still, I see limitless ways this framework/model can be used in other areas of life.

OP you just created your own thinking pattern, if it was you who came up with this, it's really brilliant.
 
blank_czech said:
Audiobooks are nice if you drive around a lot.
Click to expand...

Tried listening to under the dome on a trip a few years ago, made it part way through, started it part way through on another trip, then again on another trip. Never enough time to ever finish the damn book. It's worthless to me to listen to it 30 to 60 minutes at a time and it's so long I never make it through, then have to go back and re-listen to parts to get back into it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom