How To Encode Information Like a Genius (12 Rules)

Summary

In this insightful video, a learning coach with over 13 years of experience shares the fundamental principles of mastering encoding, a critical cognitive skill allowing learners to effectively store information into long-term memory. The speaker highlights that proficient encoding distinguishes truly gifted learners who can remember and understand content deeply and efficiently. The video introduces 12 essential rules to dramatically improve encoding abilities, emphasizing that encoding is about assisting the brain in organizing and connecting new information logically and relevantly instead of forcing raw memorization.

The first critical insight is to stop battling with the brain by pushing irrelevant information into memory and instead help the brain find meaning and connections. This prevents “learning debt,” a phenomenon was ignored or superficially learned content must be re-learned repeatedly, wasting time and effort. The video stresses a balanced rhythm between consuming information and digesting it, suggesting frequent reflection and synthesis rather than overconsumption of raw material followed by massive attempts to digest afterward. Pre-studying is recommended for building foundational knowledge to enhance real-time learning.

A set of four mental tactics are presented to boost encoding efficiency: simplifying, comparing, connecting, and grouping all new information consistently. These thinking habits act as the mental infrastructure for deeper understanding and robust memory formation. The coach explains that good learners systematically analyze and interlink concepts, creating organized mental networks instead of disjointed fragments of data.

Another crucial point is embracing the cognitive effort that proper encoding requires. Learning efficiently demands hard mental work, but habitual use of strategies like analogies and note-taking can ease this process by externalizing complex thought structures. Analogies, when carefully crafted, integrate simplification, comparison, and connection to make difficult concepts intuitive.

Note-taking serves as an essential “offload” mechanism, allowing learners to manage cognitive load by making abstract ideas concrete and externally manipulable, which also helps identify knowledge gaps. The final rule emphasizes the importance of constantly challenging and revising one’s mental models and hypotheses to avoid building knowledge on incorrect or outdated foundations.

Overall, the video conveys that strong encoding skills—marked by thoughtful organization, meaning-making, and continual refinement—are not innate but can be developed systematically. While it requires sustained effort, mastering these encoding rules can save hundreds of wasted study hours and result in significantly stronger, more flexible knowledge.

### Highlights

- 🧠 Mastering encoding is fundamental to deeper, long-term memory and sets apart highly effective learners.

- 🚫 Stop fighting your brain by forcing irrelevant information; help it organize and connect new material instead.

- ⚖ Balance consuming and digesting information with frequent reflection, not overconsumption followed by delayed processing.

- 🔍 Use four mental tactics consistently: simplify, compare, connect, and group to form strong cognitive networks.

- 💪 Effective learning requires embracing mental effort and hard thinking to build long-lasting knowledge.

- 📝 Note-taking is a powerful offload tool that reduces cognitive load and externalizes complex ideas.

- 🔄 Constantly challenge and revise your mental models to keep knowledge flexible and accurate.

### Key Insights

- 🧩 Encoding is about connection and relevance, not rote memorization: The brain naturally encodes information better when it can place it within existing mental frameworks, much like shelving a book in the right part of a library. Without relevance, the brain discards new data, so teaching yourself to immediately seek meaningful links optimizes retention and prevents wasting energy on futile memorization attempts.

- 💸 Learning debt wastes time and mental energy: Ignoring how information fits initially lead to repeated cycles of forgetting and re-learning, costing hundreds of hours over time. Paying “interest” on learning debt not only frustrates learners but prevents the development of efficient study habits. Immediate reflection and contextualization prevent this costly phenomenon.

- 🥄 Digesting information frequently is more effective than mass consumption: Cognitive overload happens when learners “overeating” information by absorbing large quantities of content before trying to make sense of it. Breaking input into manageable chunks and synthesizing after each piece cultivates incremental understanding that snowballs, gradually reinforcing the brain’s ability to form more connections.

- 🔄 Simplification, comparison, connection, and grouping form a powerful iterative toolkit: These four tactics are core cognitive strategies that force the brain to organize information into systematic networks. Simplifying lowers complexity, comparisons reveal relationships and distinctions, connections build integrated frameworks and grouping pattern’s structure knowledge hierarchically. Together, they transform fragmented facts into coherent knowledge.

- 💡 High-quality analogies supercharge encoding by combining simplification, comparison, and connection: Analogies function as mental models that map complex concepts onto familiar ones, helping learners grasp and memorize ideas via intuition. However, effective analogies balance simplicity, comprehensiveness, and accuracy, requiring thoughtful construction that itself strengthens encoding through active mental engagement.

- 📋 Note-taking as cognitive offloading expands working memory capacity: Human working memory is limited, making it difficult to juggle many loosely connected ideas mentally. Externalizing thoughts on paper or digital formats creates a visual mind map that reduces cognitive load, enhances pattern recognition, and allows learners to spot weak or isolated knowledge nodes that need reinforcement.

- 🔍 Constantly testing and challenging your knowledge builds flexible expertise: Knowledge is never final; each mental model is a hypothesis subject to revision. Openness to challenge protects against rigidity, allowing learners to refine their understanding as new evidence or perspectives emerge. This mindset accelerates expertise development by eliminating entrenched errors early.

These insights form a comprehensive framework for learners to dramatically improve retention, comprehension, and problem-solving ability by leveraging cognitive principles, deliberate mental strategies, and disciplined practice over time. The video underscores that while no shortcuts exist, systematic encoding mastery is attainable and transformative for anyone willing to put in the effort.