I was not good at chemistry exams when I was a high school
student. Chemistry in high school was a straight-up memorizing-demanding
subject, and I did not understand why I needed to remember the name of atoms
with which atomic number 2 was called helium, or that the color of flame that
generates when you burn calcium was orange.
The beauty of being an adult is that you do not have to
take an exam. Don’t get me wrong. You most likely have to learn things day by
day whatever occupations you get. Especially in research jobs, i.e., the more
you enjoy, the more curious you will be. (“The less you know, the better” is
rarely applied to academic research.)
You want to learn things from reliable information sources,
and you want to learn with less time. Here are several tips.
1.
Find a
good paper. Use Web of Science, Google Scholar, and SciFinder
frequently.
2.
Check
the reliability of the paper. For example, you may check (i) the author (Is the
corresponding author known in the field?); (ii) the paper itself (Is it well-cited?
Is it in a well-recognized journal not like a predatory journal?); (iii) Is it
fairly new and old? (If it is too new, the idea might not be tested; if it is
too old, the idea might be already denied.)
3.
Use a textbook.
Although it may not be updated to the latest research, it usually has more
tested results. Books are useful.
4.
Save
the information and make your own library for a topic. As far as it is
organized, the more information you have, the sharper you will be.
5.
If it is
a problem that you don’t fully understand at this point, take a note. It is
going to be a waste of time if you just make sure that you don’t understand
some things the next time you read the paper. Easy scratching makes a big
difference.
Good luck on your “The more you know, the better!”
