Summary

The article discusses the popularity and effectiveness of listicles as a learning tool, questioning their long-term value and advocating for personalized, in-depth learning methods.

Abstract

Listicles are a prevalent format on the internet, known for their catchy titles and promise of quick, digestible knowledge. They are appreciated for their simplicity and the sense of security they offer through a structured list of answers. However, the author reflects on their personal experience, finding that listicles often lack meaningful retention and deeper understanding, especially for complex topics. While acknowledging the convenience of listicles as shortcuts, the author suggests that true knowledge acquisition requires time and personal engagement with the material. The article compares relying solely on listicles to using someone else's cheat-sheets for an exam, emphasizing that personal note-taking and understanding are crucial for solid knowledge formation. Ultimately, the author recommends using listicles as reference points rather than definitive guides, encouraging readers to find their own paths to learning.

Opinions

Listicles are seen as clickbait due to their enticing titles and the promise of multiple solutions.
The author has consumed many listicles but finds that the content is not retained or particularly helpful in the long term.
Listicles are likened to providing shortcuts for those seeking quick answers, which may not always be beneficial.
The author prefers traditional learning methods, valuing the process of knowledge acquisition over quick fixes.
Using someone else's list or "cheat-sheets" without understanding the underlying logic is considered ineffective for learning.
Personal engagement with material, such as creating one's own study aids, is deemed more effective for solidifying knowledge.
Listicles should be used as a guide or reference rather than a set of rules to be memorized.
The author believes that there are no shortcuts in learning and that each individual must find their own best methods for acquiring knowledge.

How Many Listicles did you Read?

Did they really help you? How to make use of them?

There are reasons why listicles are popular on the Internet. It seems to be the easiest way to understand something we want to know. It gives us answers — not only one — but a list of answers.

“5 Ways to Lose Weight in 2 Weeks”

“10 Things to Do in Precise Marketing”

“8 Methods to Find a Job”

“5 Signs of a Bad Relationship”

“7 Steps to Passive Income”

I have read plenty of them. Those titles are catchy; it started with a number that is hard to resist. I click on them to learn what the writer has to say. There are reasons why people also call it “clickbait”.

Over time, I realize that I don’t recall much of the content from the listicles I read. I don’t think I have meaningful learnings from reading it. Perhaps, I don’t connect enough with listicles, at least in a longer-run.

Why are listicles popular?

Other than the reasons I mentioned earlier, listicles attract people because we live in a busy life. No one has the time and energy to devote themselves to reading long articles.

We want the end-result of anything, and we want it quickly.

We don’t have the patience to start from scratch, learn it from the beginning, and fully examine the issue. It is best if someone can just tell me what to do so that I can just do it without too much thinking. It seems efficient.

Listicles are great as they give you a list. You feel secure by seeing the list as you are guaranteed to have some take-away lessons — the list.

We feel great about listicles as someone who speaks from their experience has come out of a list to save us some time.

I think listicles are almost like providing short-cuts to people needed help. I believe this is why they are so popular.

Did these short-cuts help you?

I think listicles are great articles to read. It is informative, concise, organized, and easy to follow.

But for topics that required a deeper understanding, I don’t think listicles are the best way to learn. I think it is hard to form knowledge by reading listicles. For that same reason, many listicles are on casual topics.

It could also be a personal preference, I admit. Listicles may suit someone’s learning very well, but certainly not for me.

I love to learn my knowledge in the traditional way. I think knowledge takes time to build, and the process of acquiring it is the most crucial part.

When someone presents me with a list of successful steps of something, unless I have some prior experiences in it, I don’t connect with them well as I don’t understand them. I can’t tell if they are good steps. I am not sure how valuable it is for me.

To me, this is almost the same as bringing cheat-sheets to an exam, and the cheat-sheets are created by someone else.

Cheat-sheets in the exam

Have you ever taken any exams that you can bring cheat-sheets? I had that during college. In final exams, some instructors didn’t want us to memorize from textbooks and also encouraged us to spend time organizing our notes into cheat-sheets.

Imagine you did not prepare your own cheat-sheets. Instead, right before the exam, you photocopied someone’s cheat-sheets to use in the exam. I am positive you won’t be able to do well in the exam using cheat-sheets created by others.

Why?

Because you are not the one who wrote it, therefore you don’t understand the logic of that cheat-sheets. You are not familiar with it, and you will have a hard time navigating it.

On the other hand, in the process of making cheat-sheets, as long as you did not just copy and paste words from the textbook, but instead, you read, think, digest and use your own logic and words to put them in the cheat-sheets, I think knowledge has formed in a very solid way.

Final Remark

I think listicles are great references to look at. The best way to use them is to see them as a reference guide.

Don’t memorize the list or take it as rules to follow. Instead, use it as a checkpoint from time to time. Use it to validate and verify your thinking during your journey.

Everyone is different, the lessons learnt from someone is interesting to read, but it may not necessarily provide any value for you.

There are no short-cuts in life. And there are certainly no short-cuts in learning. Find your methods and paths.

I hope you have fun reading today. I will see you soon.

🀄️ If you like to see the Chinese version of this article, please visit here. 🙏