A unique masterpiece that combines breadth and depth, which is eye-catching. The author has devoted himself to exploring the different dimensions and contexts of learning in a simple yet profound manner. The whole book revolves around how to learn, what to learn, and how to do it, with rigorous levels, vivid cases, and strong readability. Many viewpoints are refreshing, both as a concrete presentation of how the author carries out "output based learning" and as the beginning of inspiring readers to embark on a journey of thinking and learning.
——Xie Ping, Dean of Huiyan International College, Department of Education, Beijing Normal University

Learning and education is a discipline with limited depth, unlike philosophy, science, economics, and other disciplines that have many schools of thought and constantly debate each other. In theory, there is already a consensus worldwide on how to learn and educate, but these consensuses are scattered in many books and scattered quotes from celebrities, lacking systematic integration; On the other hand, these consensuses often have a dry and clich é d face, lacking vivid and popular analysis and examples. This book is based on the framework of output based learning theory, systematically connecting and deeply analyzing all of these most important consensuses, with a high-level summary and easy to understand readability. It's like a set of "learning Windows system", every brain needs to install one, and the earlier the better.
——The author

Very practical, very objective, much better than boring lectures on how to learn. Especially useful for those who work hard but cannot get started.
——Xiao Xiao, Reader

★Immediately top the new book chart on iReader (the largest Chinese e-book platform) after launched! First place on the Social Science and Art chart! Fifth place on the entire site's popularity ranking!
★Readers have given unanimous praise after reading. Without any promotion, sales have already exceeded 10,000 copies. Orders and positive reviews have come in from countries such as South Korea, Japan, and Thailand, as well as regions like Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan of China.
★This book accurately distills the underlying logic of learning: Focusing on three fundamental questions about learning (how to learn, what to learn, and why to learn), the book comprehensively explores various learning methods and extracts the underlying logic of effective learning through output-based learning. For the first time, it establishes a systematic theory of output-based learning.
★The book is good at integrating knowledge from various disciplines to help readers understand: It incorporates and draws on the latest learning theories and brain science research results from around the world. When giving examples, it organically integrates knowledge from philosophy, physics, mathematics, literature, history, economics, and other fields, broadening readers' horizons.
★Learning has never been so easy to understand: With novel topics, vivid examples, and accessible language, the book uses vivid metaphors such as military leaders, mobile phone contacts, and bricklaying to thoroughly break down the principles of learning, making it easy and simple for readers to grasp.
★The book innovatively proposes exclusive viewpoints: The essence of interest is a biological energy allocation mechanism; the dual structure of truth and falsehood in literature; the law of conservation of brain activity...

This book systematically and thoroughly analyzes the internal mechanisms of learning by extracting key concepts such as output, recombination, meaning, interest, thinking, and neuronal connections. It draws on effective learning methods like the Feynman Technique and Cornell Note-Taking System, as well as the learning insights and practices of renowned figures such as Einstein, Schopenhauer, Liang Qichao, Yang Zhenning, and Shing-Tung Yau, in combination with cognitive science and neuroscience.
Moreover, the book argues that the question of what we should learn is a more fundamental issue than how to learn. Through interesting topics such as "What is Einstein really saying?", "What are the traits of genius?", "Are we smarter than our ancestors?", and "The pros and cons of school education", it vividly explores truly important abilities such as creative thinking, questioning skills, imagination, and critical thinking, and provides practical and specific learning suggestions.
The examples in the book cover a wide range of disciplines including physics, mathematics, philosophy, history, economics, and literature. It can be regarded as a thorough, comprehensive, vivid, and specific learning guide. It aims to help learning enthusiasts, especially teenagers, break the stereotype of learning—learning is not just about exams and advancement. By doing so, it helps them truly understand the essentials and purpose of learning, and apply what they have learned for their own benefit.

A Metaphor to Understand the Underlying Principle of Learning
—— "Output-Based Learning: The Secret to Efficient Learning"
Learning is a process of privatizing public knowledge through output, recombination, and the refinement of meaning.
First, let me introduce a learning method: Output-Based Learning. This involves learning knowledge through external output methods such as teaching others, discussing with people, recalling knowledge, drawing mind maps, critical reading, applying knowledge, thinking, and writing. This can be said to be the most efficient and the only truly effective learning method. Why is that? Let's look at a scene from the TV drama "The Road to Republic."
In the TV drama "The Road to Republic," the Regent Zaifeng dismissed Yuan Shikai, with whom he had conflicts, and established a royal cabinet, with royal relatives taking up key positions such as Minister of the Navy and Minister of the Army. However, soon after, the Xinhai Revolution broke out, and Yin Chang, the Minister of the Army, was unable to command the Beiyang Army, which had been created by Yuan Shikai. As a result, Zaifeng had no choice but to bring back Yuan Shikai. Here, we might ask, why couldn't Yin Chang, the head of the army, command the Beiyang Army? And if he wanted to change this situation, what should he do? Some friends who know history might say that it is because the Beiyang Army's officers were all promoted by Yuan Shikai and did not recognize Yin Chang. If Yin Chang wanted to truly take control of this army, he should replace the key senior officers with his own people. This is indeed the correct answer. In feudal times, the structure of an army was often organized by its leader based on the closeness and relationships (and of course, abilities) of his subordinates. A new leader must reorganize the structure centered around himself to fully control the army—sometimes even creating new positions, adjusting the weight of a position, or reorganizing the entire structure. Additionally, you need to establish prestige among the middle and lower-ranking officers and soldiers; spend some time with the army, frequently show up in front of the grassroots officers and soldiers, give speeches, and at least become familiar with everyone in the army. It would be best if you had fought together, shared life and death, and petitioned for military merits on their behalf. In this way, you would establish a close connection with the army and be able to command it freely.
The point of discussing this is that our mastery of knowledge is actually the same principle. For example, you may copy knowledge into your notebook, or even memorize it completely in your mind, and declare that it is your knowledge—even if you are happy to do so, you can also make such a declaration about the knowledge you just read on Baidu Baike. However, this is useless. It is just like being a nominal Minister of the Navy or Minister of the Army. Without reorganization and without "working with this knowledge," you cannot effectively call upon it when needed. The language of others, even if memorized, remains theirs; their way of thinking and logic is also difficult to take root in your brain. To truly master a piece of knowledge, just like reorganizing an army centered around yourself, you must break down the language and logic of others and reorganize it with your own thinking. Replace the concepts of knowledge with your own understanding and rebuild the network centered around yourself. For example, when reading and seeing the author's "first... second... third...", I often silently memorize it in my mind as "one... two... three...", which is a reorganization according to my own thinking habits. Similarly, just as leading this army into battle, you need to call upon this knowledge as much as possible to become more proficient in mastering it. To extend this further, why is it that the articles we write ourselves and the insights we think of are not easily forgotten even after many years? Because these are generated from within us and have a neuronal basis, just like an army that we have "built ourselves", which is easy to call upon even after many years.
This is the underlying principle of why Output-Based Learning is effective—output is actually a forced digestion. When we output (for example, when we want to explain knowledge to others), we have to reorganize the language and logic. Unconsciously, we replace the concepts and logic of knowledge with our own "trusted subordinates" (our own understanding), thus truly taking control of the knowledge. In addition, output also strengthens memory by extracting knowledge and promotes the connection and networking of knowledge in the brain. In summary, it can be said that if you thoroughly understand this metaphor, you will have completely understood learning. And the various popular learning methods on the market, such as the Feynman Technique, Cornell Note-Taking, Mind Mapping, Deliberate Practice, Simon's Learning Method, the Learning Pyramid, and various reading and memory techniques... it can be said that all effective learning methods, no matter what they are called, ultimately come down to the same underlying logic of Output-Based Learning.
Next, let's look at a joke that was once very popular: "By looking at your mobile phone contact list, you can see why you are not successful. Other people's phones are filled with contacts like Director Sun from the Construction Committee, Director Li from the Municipal Office, Director Wang from the Planning Bureau, General Manager Cui, General Manager Zhao, etc., while my phone has contacts like Zhang Cement, Zhao Mixer, Wang Stone..." The point here is not the joke itself, but why our phone contact lists are organized in this way. Why not store a full name, which would be more precise information? In fact, the joke reflects how we organize information—we organize information based on meaning. For example, when we store the phone number or WeChat of the print shop owner at the entrance of a residential community, we often label it as "East Gate Print Shop" instead of the owner's full name. This is because the print shop is meaningful to us, while the owner's name is meaningless. Therefore, everyone's phone contact list is often only understandable to themselves, and there are definitely many strange names that others would not understand. Our grasp of knowledge is also the same. Knowledge, as a form of information, is also grasped through meaning. Just like the names in the contact list, this meaning is private and must be actively processed by each individual. If you cannot process knowledge in this private way, these pieces of knowledge will be like the complete but unfamiliar names in your contact list. After a while, you won't be able to distinguish who is who. They will be difficult to remember and understand and cannot be effectively called upon. For example, if you introduce the Chinese historical figure Xiang Yu to a European, and you explain it according to the knowledge in the history book, the other person may not understand or remember it no matter how long you talk. However, if you say that he is the Chinese Napoleon, the other person will immediately understand: Ah, he is a tragic hero in China, and it will be easy to remember. This is because the knowledge has been processed based on meaning. Therefore, the process of output and reorganization is actually a process of processing knowledge through meaning. That is, according to your own understanding, to give knowledge a private meaning and turn public knowledge into private knowledge.
Finally, to summarize, the essence of output is reorganization, and the essence of reorganization is the refinement of meaning. Learning is a process of privatizing public knowledge through output, reorganization, and the refinement of meaning. This can be said to be the most appropriate definition of learning from the perspective of how to learn, and every student should memorize and thoroughly ponder it.