Head Rush Ajax

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If you really want to learn, and you want to learn more quickly and more

deeply, pay attention to how you pay attention. Think about how you think.

Learn how you learn.

Most of us did not take courses on metacognition or learning theory when we

were growing up. We were expected to learn, but rarely taught to learn.

But we assume that if you’re holding this book, you want to learn Ajax.

And you probably don’t want to spend a lot of time. And since you’re

going to develop applications, you need to remember what you read. And

for that, you’ve got to understand it. To get the most from this book, or

any book or learning experience, take responsibility for your brain. Your

brain on this content.

The trick is to get your brain to see the new material you’re learning as

Really Important. Crucial to your well-being. As important as a tiger.

Otherwise, you’re in for a constant battle, with your brain doing its

best to keep the new content from sticking.

Metacognition: thinking about thinking

So just how

DO

you get your brain to treat Ajax like

it’s a hungry tiger?

There’s the slow, tedious way, or the faster, more effective way. The

slow way is about sheer repetition. You obviously know that you are

able to learn and remember even the dullest of topics if you keep

pounding the same thing into your brain. With enough repetition, your brain says, “This

doesn’t feel important to him, but he ...