You don't have to learn everything

Thanks to the Pareto principle, we spent less time studying, covered less material, and got better grades. We've written about it before, but to summarize briefly - 80% of the effect comes from 20% of the causes. In studying, this means that 20% of the knowledge represents 80% of the grade. Of course, the numbers 80% and 20% aren't always precisely accurate. Sometimes the ratio is even greater, and occasionally it's smaller. Our task is to recognize those causes that bring about the majority of the results. We applied this principle every time we sat down to study. We used it at the beginning of a subject, when we first encountered the material and analyzed it, and also during the actual studying. We were always attentive to what was essential and what wasn't.

One day, after using this principle in our lives for two years, we decided to read the book The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less, by Richard Koch. We were surprised by the passage where the author briefly describes his approach to studying at Oxford University:

“When I was a raw student at Oxford, my tutor told me never to go to lectures. “Books can be read far faster,” he explained. “But never read a book from cover to cover, except for pleasure. When you are working, find out what the book is saying much faster than you would by reading it through. Read the conclusion, then the introduction, then the conclusion again, then dip lightly into any interesting bits.” What he was really saying was that 80 percent of the value of a book can be found in 20 percent or fewer of its pages and absorbed in 20 percent of the time most people would take to read it through. I took to this study method and extended it. At Oxford there is no system of continuous assessment, and the class of degree earned depends entirely on finals, the examinations taken at the end of the course. I discovered from the “form book,” that is by analyzing past examination papers, that at least 80 percent (sometimes 100 percent) of an examination could be well answered with knowledge from 20 percent or fewer of the subjects that the exam was meant to cover. The examiners could therefore be much better impressed by a student who knew an awful lot about relatively little, rather than a fair amount about a great deal. This insight enabled me to study very efficiently. Somehow, without working very hard, I ended up with a congratulatory First Class degree. I used to think this proved that Oxford dons were gullible. I now prefer to think, perhaps improbably, that they were teaching us how the world worked.”

Sometimes we felt like we were somehow cheating the system. We didn't learn everything and still passed the exams. But when we found confirmation in this book that the system works, we began to trust it even more.

Even now, when we no longer study for exams but have other obligations, we still observe where the 80/20 principle can help us. If you're interested in Pareto's principle in more detail, we definitely recommend this book. We read it cover to cover, but you might prefer to read only the 20% that you find essential.

Alternatively, you can also read our first article about the Pareto principle.

Influences:

The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less - Richard Koch

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich - Timothy Ferriss