Learn and Remember More With Information Chunking

This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "A Mind for Numbers" by Barbara Oakley. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.

Information chunking is the process in which your memories get consolidated into “chunks” of related information in your brain. As your brain’s file management system, it’s a vital part of the learning process. You can use chunking to learn new problem-solving techniques that will come in handy—especially as you learn math and science.

According to Oakley, you use both your working memory and your long-term memory to learn math and science, so it’s helpful to understand the distinction between them. Information chunking is the process in which your memories get consolidated into “chunks” of related information in your brain. From Oakley’s writing, we infer that chunking helps lay the foundation for understanding how your memory works because your working and long-term memory depend on your brain’s ability to organize information into chunks.

As Oakley points out, working memory holds the information that your mind is actively processing. You use it to solve problems in math and science when you focus on the problem and think about the principles you would use to solve it. You also use it when you take in new information and try to make sense of it. 

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