“In learning something new, a man improves himself. He either acquires a new skill or becomes more proficient at an old one. In studying, a man acquires new knowledge but this new knowledge need not make any difference to him as a practical man.” – D.C. Lau

It’s that time of the year again. No, I’m not talking about the holiday season, even though dancing Santas are already wiggling about in windows everywhere. I’m talking about final exams! The plazas are empty, the libraries are full, and a sense of tension seems to be making its way through the student body.

Every year is the same. Some spend hours “cramming” well into the night in an attempt to make sense of material that was never actually understood in the first place. It’s all about doing the least amount of work required just to scrape through. And then there are the others. Some simply want to be the best they can be. That means doing all it takes to be number one. It also means throwing tantrums and fits whenever assignments are graded unfairly or when the effort doesn’t pay off.

I really don’t get the obsession with good grades. Yes, it’s important to work hard and strive to do well academically, especially if you’re facing the prospect of not graduating. But focusing on “A’s” as the ultimate end goal is not such a good idea. Fact is, they don’t really matter all that much. Being an honour student won’t necessarily make you happy or successful. It might not even make you rich. Focusing on something else entirely just might.

Studying is not about learning actual material. It’s about learning how to learn. There’s a reason nobody remembers the skeletal system from high school biology or exactly how to work with quadratic equations from calculus class. Those were designed to exercise our minds, not to equip up with conversational titbits. They were designed to help us solve problems and think laterally; skills we can actually use going forward.

Unfortunately, many institutions don’t feel the same way. They spend tons of time and money in an attempt to boost scores; sometimes in ways that raise an eyebrow or two. And even though their intentions may be noble, they’re not doing us any favours by spewing out silly acronyms, supplying us with cram notes, or dishing out tips and tricks to boost our reading speed. What they should be doing is teaching. We pay to learn and that’s what they should help us do.

In The World is Flat (also available in South Africa), Thomas Friedman brings this home by talking about “Globalisation 3.0”. We live in a digital age and technology is rendering careers obsolete every single day. Physical and intellectual capital move freely across our borders, work is outsourced, and millions of people all over the world are competing for your job. The only way to stay relevant is by constantly keeping our minds sharp.

My advice to those facing the prospect of final exams (whenever they may be) would be to stop obsessing over the material and the marks. They don’t matter. What you know will probably become irrelevant any minute now. Instead, spend some time focusing on the learning process. Spend some time “teaching yourself to fish” so you don’t go hungry somewhere down the line. You’ll thank yourself later.

(For more resources and tips, download your free copy of “Work in Progress” exclusively from www.varsityblah.com/about and check this out too.)

This week is the first of what I hope will be many open discussions on news and current events. The U.S. has been criticised a lot lately for its views on torture. Is it okay to hurt one person in order to help another? What about killing one person in order to save hundreds of lives? Is it all a case of no pain, no gain?

(Eugene Yiga is the editor of Varsity Blah and his latest book is available free, exclusively from www.varsityblah.com/about)

They say the only two certainties in life are death and taxes. Well, I think there’s a third…STUDYING! This inescapable fact applies to all of us at some point or another. And even after that final bell has rung or we’ve been awarded a degree, the need to keep learning throughout our lives is a reality we cannot elude.

Not many schools actually teach us how to study. All we’re told is to organise our notes, create a prioritised study plan, take regular breaks, and not to panic. Is that really all there is to it? Um, no. Fact is, we’re all different and generic advice like that simply won’t do. What we need is something that works for us as individuals. Fortunately, that something exists.

Switch On Your Brain (also available in South Africa) is a book I highly recommend for anyone wanting to learn better and faster than they ever have before. In it, Dr Caroline Leaf outlines seven different intelligences. Each of these has implications for the way we think and learn. Briefly, they are as follows:

Logical / Mathematical – These people think by reasoning and love experimenting, questioning, and figuring out puzzles. The intelligence can be enhanced by playing mental calculation games and practising how to remember statistics (e.g. in sports).

Visual / Spatial – These people think in images and pictures and love designing, drawing, and visualising. The intelligence can be enhanced by working with flowcharts and doodling when thinking.

Linguistic – These people think in words and love reading, writing, and telling stories. The intelligence can be enhanced by reading broadly and doing crossword puzzles.

Kinaesthetic – These people think through movement and senses and love dancing, running, and gesturing. The intelligence can be enhanced by role-play situations as well as creative movement routines.

Intrapersonal – These people think deeply inside themselves and love planning, dreaming, and setting goals. The intelligence can be enhanced by spending quiet time alone as well as by developing greater self-awareness.

Interpersonal – These people think by bouncing ideas off other people and love leading, relating and, er, partying. The intelligence can be enhanced by retelling stories as well as engaging in group work.

Musical – These people think through rhythms and melodies, and love whistling, singing, and tapping. The intelligence can be enhanced by listening to classical music and humming while you work.

Of course, these descriptions are by no means exhaustive. After providing a thorough questionnaire to determine which profiles you most fit into (there can be more than one), the book goes into much more detail and includes suggestions on keeping your brain healthy with good nutrition, planning a career that would work best given your intellectual “proclivities”, as well as how to study appropriately in school, university, and beyond. It just makes sense.

(For more resources and tips, download your free copy of “Work in Progress” exclusively from www.varsityblah.com/about and check this out too)