The best way to study

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The best way to study is not to study when you do not wish to. - Yoshitsugo Oono (Perspectives on Statistical Thermodynamics)

This quote is often misunderstood. Suppose you don't like math. Then you will never wish to study math. According to this quote, the best way to study math (for you) is not to study math at all. As a consequence, you will fail the math exam. But this is perhaps not what you want. Even though you don't like math, you want to pass the exam. So you force yourself to study math. As a result, you may pass the exam. So, the above maxim can't be right. The best way to study is to force yourself to study even if you don't wish to study. But here's a caveat. Since your goal was to pass the exam, you will forget everything after the exam. After all, you don't like math. Why bother retaining the knowledge and skills of math?

Actually, passing the exam is not the point of the above quote. It's about being good at something. Passing the exam is simply a consequence of being good at the subject. What the above quote means is that you will never be good at something unless you love it. If you love it, you will always wish to study it. So you will keep studying, studying, and studying, and you will be really, really good at it. You simply can't stop studying because you love it too much. You will retain your knowledge and experience that will serve as a basis for further studies in the future.

Now, let's go back to the hypothetical case that you don't like math. If you follow the adage, you will fail the exam. And that's a good thing. You just avoided wasting time studying something you won't master anyways. Study something, whatever you love, and be extremely good at it.

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