This post from zhichai.net reviews *Reverse Learning* (反向学习) by Liu Lan, a book about rebuilding how adults learn.
Key points
- Core thesis: Adults' learning problems come not from learning too little, but from school-trained habits. The first task of adult learning is not adding new knowledge, but removing wrong or outdated old knowledge — hence "reverse learning" (unlearning).
- Five disciplines of learning ability: 1. Reverse learning (unlearning) — uninstall bad habits before building a new system; framed as a long-term discipline, harder than acquiring new knowledge. 2. Reference-answer thinking — treat all knowledge and theories as "reference answers," not standard ones. Key mantra: "it depends." Strategies include insight-based classification, discovering hidden assumptions, interactive learning, and reverse thinking. 3. Focus — learn less but deeper, via eight rules: focus on what doesn't change, what's practical, what you're good at, one topic, one author, one sample, one thing at a time, and patterns. 4. Pattern-based learning — learning = patterns + fragments. Beginners see fragments; experts see patterns. Learn fewer but deeper, hard-first patterns so details attach naturally. 5. Deep transfer — a "four-question method": What did I hear? What does it make me think? What do I become? Where will I use it?
- Schooling is diagnosed as the root problem, not a neutral backdrop: standard-answer thinking, fixing weaknesses, fragmented learning, and learning without application are called the hidden curriculum to be unlearned.
- Unlearning is elevated to the first discipline, with explicit goals — not a passing mention of "unlearning."
- Learning ability is framed as a meta-ability, backed by concrete tools (eight focusing rules, four-question method) rather than slogans.
- Critical thinking is operationalized into the "it depends / reference answer" habit.
- Students focused on exam scores (the book criticizes test-oriented education).
- Readers wanting quick memory/reading hacks rather than a full learning system.
- Experienced self-learners, who may find some ideas familiar, though the integrated framework still has reference value.
What's claimed as novel
Suggested reading path from the post
1. Self-diagnose against the four bad habits (standard answers, fixing weaknesses, fragmentation, learning without use). 2. Read the preface, introduction, and Chapter 1 first; then chapters on reference-answer thinking and focus; pattern-based learning and deep transfer last. 3. Afterward: design a learning plan with the four-question method, prune 90% of current learning with the focusing rules, and practice asking "this is only a reference answer — what's mine?"