The Deal
tl;dr: If you want to better retain what you learn from books, talk about it with friends! Blinkist Spaces* will help you do just that — and you can share any book with anyone, free of charge.
Hey hey, Nik here!
Yesterday, I told my Asian girlfriend the story of why Asians are (usually) good at math. 🤦🏼♂️ I know, right? What a wise-ass. 😁
She even has a degree in...maths! For Pete's sake! Thankfully, she did not know the story behind this stereotype, and it's actually rather interesting. Phew! 😮💨 I think you'll like it too.
At first, we were talking about how, in Asian culture, it is more common to squat than in the West. People squat while waiting. While smoking. While eating. Even the Singaporean Prime Minister squats, in his suit, while taking pictures — right next to Obama on the White House lawn.
Having grown up in Malaysia, my girlfriend remembers a time when squatting toilets were the norm. You better be able to bend those knees... Thankfully, they're a much rarer occurrence now, but the end result remains:
Most Asian folks can chill in a squat for quite some time — a pose that's actually quite healthy and that we should adopt regularly — while Westerners often struggle with it. A historic, cultural phenomenon with late but real consequences.
The whole thing reminded me of Malcolm Gladwell's explanation of why Asians are good at math, which he shared in Outliers.
As it turns out, rice farming, the original (and pretty much only) profession in Asia for centuries, is harder than any other kind of farming. "Working in a rice field is 10 to 20 times more labor-intensive than working on an equivalent-size corn or wheat field," Gladwell wrote. "Some estimates put the annual workload of a wet-rice farmer in Asia at 3,000 hours a year."
Compare that to the measly 1,000 hours of 18th-century French farmers, whose harvest depended a lot on the uncontrollable weather, and who, unlike their Asian counterparts, didn't benefit from any additional g(r)ains — their landlords took everything in excess of what they needed to live — and you know why extreme discipline, dedication, and focus came in the box in the ancient East.
It's the difference between someone working 5–6 hours for 200 days a year, and someone working 8 hours a day, every single day. Transfer that same, inherent, long culturally bred work ethic to the modern school system, and it's no wonder that China has won two thirds of all Math Olympiads of the last 30 years.
Of course, the historically rooted work ethic is just one part of the puzzle, but I always found this a fascinating connection — and so did my girlfriend, by the way. "You should write about this!" she said. I told her I already did — more than 4 years ago — and that's why I'm relaying all of this to you right now.
With only a loosely related prompt in a random, everyday conversation, I could remember an entire story and the facts that go with it, all from a book I last engaged with more than 4 years ago.
That's the power of remembering what you learn — and the single-best way to do so is to share it with someone else. That's what Blinkist Spaces* are for.
Blinkist* is a top learning app and leading book summary service with over 6,500+ titles available in both text and audio. They're also the most generous when it comes to sharing your membership with family, friends, and coworkers, which, ironically, will be a huge benefit to your own understanding and retention.
Let's say you just read Blinkist's summary of Outliers, and you want to remember the 10,000-hour rule — the useful fact that mastery in pretty much any field takes around 10,000 hours of focused, deliberate practice — no shortcuts possible. How can you make sure you don't forget this idea? Simple: You explain it to someone else.
Now, of course you could do this at the family dinner table, but would anyone really listen? You could write about it, but that takes a lot of time.
Or, you can simply hit the "Add to a shared Space" button, send the link to some folks you know will find that lesson fascinating, and allow them to read the same summary you just finished — completely free of charge!
You can even add a note with some discussion points, let them know why you think they'll love it, or tell them to ping you when they're done reading — or even listening. Yes, that's free too!
Look, here's a Space I made for my Mastermind group. Now, I can put books in there that talk about helpful concepts we can use in our business strategy sessions. Like the idea of finite vs. infinite games from one of Simon Sinek's books.
With Blinkist Spaces*, you can...
- Create your own book club in a matter of minutes
- Spend more time with people you care about by forming a group around shared interests
- Learn new skills together instead of alone, and thus make challenges feel less daunting
- Give others quick access to great ideas without the overwhelm of having to buy and read an entire book
...and, of course, share and explain what you learn to other people so that you can remember it better and longer.
Best of all, the Membership comes with a free, zero-risk, 7-day trial, and an additional 35% off (a Four Minute Books exclusive!) Read some summaries, start some Spaces, and test your newfound knowledge before pulling the trigger!
I'm a writer. Like a meat grinder in a sausage factory, I process everything I consume, be it on my daily blog, through the summaries and content on Four Minute Books, or via my other writing endeavors. But not everyone has the luxury of a job that allows them to mince everything they learn.
The toughest part of learning is not forgetting the most valuable lessons you pick up. That takes repetition and commitment well beyond the initial time and effort it takes to learn something new in the first place.
By sharing your learnings with others, however — talking about them and connecting with people over exciting ideas — you drastically shorten that curve.
Try Blinkist Spaces*. It adds so much depth and fun to the book summary experience. I hope you'll give it a go — and whatever interesting fact you share first with friends and family, I'm sure they, just like you, will remember it for a long time.
Happy reading,
-Nik
PS: For that special someone who can't get enough of your recommendations in, each Blinkist Premium Membership* now comes with a second, completely free Premium account! Invite your spouse, best bud, or favorite colleague, and give them the full experience. Learn even more together, even faster than ever. Join here, start a free trial, and get 35% off if you stay* »
Posts
0 Comments