In software where things change incessantly at a high pace it is very important to know how to go about learning stuff that matters.
The natural sciences have a reputation for posing special challenges to the way we think and learn: they are a form of "extreme thinking". In this essay physicist Michael A. Nielsen discusses some of the challenges facing researchers in the natural sciences, and how those challenges shed light on other tough learning situations.
Read the essay to absorb some general principles of learning.
