Gayle Laakmann McDowell

Seated at Table 5, Learning how to learn

Seat 1 of 7. Also at the table:

• 
  Scott YoungInspired my approach to ultralearning and tackling ambitious self-education projects with structure and intensity.
• 
  Josh KaufmanReinforced the value of rapid skill acquisition and first-principles thinking about business and learning.
• 
  Barbara OakleyGave me a neuroscience-grounded understanding of how learning actually works and how to do it more effectively.
• 
  Josh WaitzkinTaught me about the art of learning itself, the power of presence, and how mastery transfers across domains.
• 
  Maria PopovaModeled the art of deep, cross-disciplinary reading and weaving ideas from literature, science, and philosophy into a coherent worldview.
• 
  Tim FerrissIntroduced me to the idea of lifestyle design and systematic approaches to accelerated learning and self-experimentation.