Ultralearning

Scott H. Young

S Tier

When to Read

As early as you can, whenever you hit a skill you don't have and can't afford to acquire at the default slow pace. Especially if you're a founder competing against the already great.

Main Takeaway

Fast learning isn't a talent, it's a set of principles you design into intense, self-directed projects. Founders competing against the great 1% can use it to acquire the skills they're missing on purpose, and close a gap that would otherwise take years.

Style

Theoretical

Practical

I finished it, and it's amazing. S tier, a must read for anyone aspiring to a c-level seat. Here's my honest angle, though: I don't think Scott Young wrote it for the reason I ended up loving it. He frames ultralearning as a way to master hard skills faster than the competition. The way it landed for me is bigger than that. If you're a founder, the people you're up against aren't average, they're the already great 1%. To win you can't just match them, you have to be orders of magnitude better in knowledge and skill. This is the closest thing I've found to a system for closing that gap on purpose: pick the skill you don't have, design an intense self-directed project around it, and go acquire it instead of waiting for it to arrive. Harness even part of that and your odds change dramatically. Short, sharp, and it rewired how I think about learning anything new. S tier.

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