How to Learn

I wish I had a foolproof protocol for this. Since I don't, here are some useful pointers. And my thoughts on personal knowledge management may be useful.

Recommended

Schwer, P. (2025) The Meaning of Doing Mathematics. arXiv:2509.15998
Schwer, P. (2026) How to Read Mathematics? A Study Guide. arXiv:2607.24136

Two excellent and thoughtful articles by mathematician Petra Schwer from Heidelberg University.

Schwartz, M. A. (2008). The importance of stupidity in scientific research. Journal of Cell Science, 121(11), 1771.

Imposter syndrome is the worst; Schwartz argues why feeling stupid is the norm in scientific research.

Nielsen, M. A. (2004). Principles of Effective Research. Blogpost.

A wonderful guide to working scientists. Brilliant!

Rockmore, D. (2019). The Myth and Magic of Generating New Ideas. The New Yorker.

Research ideas are difficult to conceive; Rockmore tells what works for him.

Dyson, F. (2009). Birds and Frogs. Notices of the AMS, 56(2), 212–223.

Dyson argues why we need both specialists and generalists in research.

Guttal, V. (n.d.). Assorted articles on professional skills. Curated blog series.

Mckenji, R. (2011). Towards research independence. Blogpost.

Chatterjee, A. (2015). Some musings on academic research. Personal webpage.

Hamming, R. (1986). You and Your Research. Lecture transcript.

Finding the Search Terms for Your Literature Review, 2022. (accessed 2025-09-04).