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Scott H Young

Writer on learning and author of Ultralearning and Get Better at Anything; known for the MIT Challenge and the Year Without English.

10 things

PsychBook Paul Bloom

loved

Despite having read a few bookshelves worth of academic psychology texts, I enjoyed Yale professor Paul Bloom's survey of the field. Because understanding psychology cannot be divorced from understanding its history, I enjoyed Bloom's birds-eye view of the field from the past to the present day.

His year-end post picking ten favourites out of the roughly forty to fifty books he finished in 2023.

2023-12-19·scotthyoung.com ↗

The RepublicBook Plato

loved

To my surprise, I really enjoyed The Republic. It is both well-written and weird, which puts it above many other famous philosophical books that are too obscure to be easily read.

His year-end post picking ten favourites out of the roughly forty to fifty books he finished in 2023.

2023-12-19·scotthyoung.com ↗

Social Learning TheoryBook Albert Bandura

loved

Social Learning Theory is a difficult book to summarize, but it has profoundly impacted my thinking.

His year-end post picking ten favourites out of the roughly forty to fifty books he finished in 2023.

2023-12-19·scotthyoung.com ↗

Why Knowledge MattersBook E. D. Hirsch

liked

In this 2016 book, Hirsch presents a sweeping curriculum change in French schools as evidence that misguided educational theories are undermining our children's learning.

His year-end post picking ten favourites out of the roughly forty to fifty books he finished in 2023.

2023-12-19·scotthyoung.com ↗

How We ReasonBook Philip Johnson-Laird

liked

I had read Johnson-Laird's original work, Mental Models, last year. It was nice to see an in-depth follow-up on how the theory has developed in the subsequent two decades.

His year-end post picking ten favourites out of the roughly forty to fifty books he finished in 2023.

2023-12-19·scotthyoung.com ↗

Creativity in ScienceBook Dean Simonton

liked

This book surveys theories of creativity, contrasting four competing explanations: expertise, genius, society, and chance, in offering a model for how creativity works. Simonton's work provides a nice hybrid between the purely anecdotal work of biographers and the data-driven work of experimental scientists.

His year-end post picking ten favourites out of the roughly forty to fifty books he finished in 2023.

2023-12-19·scotthyoung.com ↗

Cognitive Behavior TherapyBook Judith Beck

liked

I recently reviewed Beck's book, which is written as a practical guide for therapists implementing CBT.

His year-end post picking ten favourites out of the roughly forty to fifty books he finished in 2023.

2023-12-19·scotthyoung.com ↗

How Languages are LearnedBook Patsy Lightbown and Nina Spada

liked

To that end, I read a few different books from the field of second language acquisition (SLA) over the summer, and even wrote a review of How Languages are Learned.

His year-end post picking ten favourites out of the roughly forty to fifty books he finished in 2023.

2023-12-19·scotthyoung.com ↗

The Science of Learning PhysicsBook José Mestre and Jennifer Docktor

liked

Mestre and Docktor tackle this challenge by reviewing the large body of literature on learning physics. I plan on writing a full review of their book, which I found to be a helpful summary.

His year-end post picking ten favourites out of the roughly forty to fifty books he finished in 2023.

2023-12-19·scotthyoung.com ↗

Beginning to ReadBook Marilyn Jager Adams

liked

Marilyn Jager Adams's extensive review of the literature concluded essentially the same thing in 1994.

His year-end post picking ten favourites out of the roughly forty to fifty books he finished in 2023.

2023-12-19·scotthyoung.com ↗

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