Free Web NovelChapter 3: Chapter 3: Joule’s Learning Method
Li Dong was completely stunned by words like "parallel universe," "tech tree deviation," and "butterfly effect."
He never imagined that just by casually showing off, he’d actually caused a parallel universe’s tech tree to deviate.
’This feeling... it’s like I’m God, casually plucking a string and making the whole world tremble.’
Li Dong swallowed and shifted his gaze to his attribute panel.
[Concentration: 0.1]
’Wait, what the hell is 0.1?’
Li Dong wore a constipated expression. Attributes with decimals? How was he supposed to work with that?
Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him.
’Wait!’
’The effect of that red packet Newton just sent was [Concentration +1].’
’If that red packet represented Newton’s Concentration, then...’
’Newton is 1, and I’m 0.1...’
Li Dong started chuckling foolishly.
’That’s Newton we’re talking about! The legend who casually invented Calculus just to calculate planetary orbits!’
’Even if I only have one-tenth of his... here at Jiangcheng Seventh Middle School, wouldn’t I just dominate?’
Still excited, Li Dong turned his attention back to the group chat interface.
’Um... I already kicked open the door to thermodynamics for you. Isn’t there some other show of appreciation?’
Li Dong stared at the screen, waiting for a long time.
The group was silent.
Forget a red packet; there wasn’t even a sticker.
’This Newton... he’s not one of those scumbags who uses you and then tosses you aside, is he?’
Just as Li Dong was about to proactively ask for a red packet, someone in the group finally spoke.
[James Joule]: @Isaac Newton, Sir! Your experiment is absolutely astounding! I followed your line of thinking, using a paddle wheel to stir water in a bucket and measuring the change in water temperature. The results perfectly verified that heat is the motion of fine particles!
[James Joule]: In this process, mechanical work was converted into heat! It’s simply a work of God! By the way, a chemist here, a Mr. Dalton, seems to have mentioned a concept called the "atom." I believe that’s what you meant by molecule, correct?
[James Joule]: Thank you so much, Sir Newton! If it weren’t for you, I don’t know how much longer I would have wandered, lost in the erroneous "caloric theory"!
Looking at these lines of text, Li Dong was taken aback for a moment.
’Joule?’
’He’s another legend—a man who, like Newton, has a unit of measurement named after him.’
Newton’s reply came quickly.
[Isaac Newton]: @James Joule, no, you are thanking the wrong person. I was merely guided by another.
[Isaac Newton]: The one who truly discovered all this is @Cramming for Exams. He is the one who showed me the correct path. You should be thanking him.
’Look at that! Just look at that!’
’That’s the magnanimity of a true master! Unlike certain advisors who, for the sake of... ahem...’
Since these great minds wanted to thank him, Li Dong certainly wasn’t going to be modest.
’No need to be so formal. Since we’re all so familiar with each other, how about sending a red packet to show your appreciation?’
[System Notification: This behavior has been detected as unrelated to "academic discussion." Please adopt a proper attitude toward learning.]
’Damn it!’
Li Dong fumed helplessly, but he quickly calmed down.
’Asking for a red packet directly didn’t work, so I’ll have to try another way.’
’If I can’t get a material reward, I’ll just have to fleece them for some knowledge!’
’This group is filled with the most brilliant minds in human history. If I could get them to give me some pointers on my studies...’
With this thought, Li Dong immediately took action.
[Cramming for Exams]: It was nothing, really, not worth mentioning. However... I’ve run into a small problem recently.
[Cramming for Exams]: I have a nephew who is about to take a very important exam, but he’s a bit slow and has always struggled with math. I was just trying to explain a problem to him, and after a long time, it still wasn’t clicking.
[Cramming for Exams]: I was wondering if any of you have some good study methods that could help my poor, slow nephew?
Li Dong’s persona as a master couldn’t possibly be ignorant of high school math, so he would ask on behalf of his "nephew"!
The trick worked like a charm. Newton replied quickly.
[Isaac Newton]: Since he is your nephew, his aptitude cannot be too poor. Why don’t you post the problem for us to see?
Li Dong was overjoyed.
’Getting Newton to be my tutor? Can any of those cram schools even compare?’
Li Dong quickly flipped open his math test paper and found the final, killer problem that had stumped the entire class.
[Given the function f(x) = e^x - ax - 1 (where a is a constant). If f(x) ≥ 0 holds true for any x ≥ 0, find the range of values for the real number a.]
Li Dong replaced the "e" in the problem with "the base of the natural logarithm" and swapped the term "derivative," which Newton might not understand, for "fluxions," a concept from Newton’s era that he would comprehend. Then, he sent it.
[Cramming for Exams]: This is the problem. How does one determine the bounds of the constant in this fluxion?
Less than two seconds after the message was sent...
[Isaac Newton]: The answer is a ≤ 1.
Li Dong waited a bit. He was still expecting Newton’s derivation process.
A minute passed, but Newton said nothing more.
Li Dong grew a little anxious and continued to ask.
[Cramming for Exams]: Um... could you be a little more detailed? My nephew is a bit slow; he won’t understand just by looking at the answer. Is there a specific derivation process?
[Isaac Newton]: ???
[Isaac Newton]: Process? Isn’t it self-evident? What process is needed?
Li Dong suddenly realized he’d made a mistake.
He was asking Newton!
Who was Newton?
He was the monster among geniuses who, in his twenties, went back to his rural home to escape a plague and, out of sheer boredom, casually invented Calculus, discovered universal gravitation, and developed spectrum analysis!
This was like asking Bolt to teach you how to run. Bolt would just say, "You hear the gunshot, and then WHOOSH, you just dash to the finish line, right?"
A mere mortal could never learn that way!
Just as Li Dong thought his "fleecing" operation was about to end in failure, the man named Joule appeared again.
[James Joule]: Ahem... Um, Sir Newton, you may be overestimating the thinking speed of an ordinary person.
[James Joule]: @Cramming for Exams, I can deeply sympathize with the problem your nephew is facing. I am of dull aptitude myself, so I understand the pain of your brain just not getting it.
Li Dong’s eyes lit up.
’That’s right! Joule!’
’Joule came from a family of brewers. He hadn’t received much formal higher education; he taught himself mathematics to solve physics problems.’
’This kind of self-taught master must have a study method that works for him!’
So Li Dong hurriedly typed in the group.
[Cramming for Exams]: Mr. Joule! You’re too modest! I was wondering if you had any insights you could share?
[James Joule]: If not for your insights, I wouldn’t have been able to so quickly determine that heat is the motion of molecules. Since your nephew is having trouble with his studies, I will share my own learning method.
[James Joule]: Although these clumsy methods are not worth mentioning in front of Sir Newton, for someone with a weak foundation, they might help build a solid base.
Then he sent a document to the group.
Li Dong immediately opened it, and the contents of the document appeared in his mind.
The first point was Breakdown and Mastery.
This meant breaking down concepts into the smallest possible units. Master one unit at a time: memorize definitions, derive formulas, and solve ten practice problems of the same type with perfect accuracy before moving on to the next concept.
The second point was Review and Quantify Errors.
Generally, people make mistakes for three reasons: they forgot the formula, they miscalculated, or they had no idea how to approach it. Therefore, if you get the same type of problem wrong twice, you must stop and relearn that entire unit from the beginning, which brings you back to the first point.
The third point was Connect and Transfer Methods.
The science subjects are all interconnected. While studying, you should often think about whether a method can be applied to other subjects.
For example, finding the maximum or minimum value in math is the same process used in physics kinematics.
The conservation principles in chemistry are the same as the conservation of energy in physics.
Once you open up your mind, you’ll naturally find clues to solving those difficult problems you couldn’t do before.
In truth, this method wasn’t complicated. It wasn’t that the average person couldn’t think of it, but very few could actually follow through.
It was like a multiple-choice question.
If hard work isn’t guaranteed to pay off, would you still persevere without hesitation? Most people would probably give up halfway.
But if someone told you that as long as you follow their method, you are guaranteed to succeed, far more people would be willing to grit their teeth and persevere.
Now, with Joule’s endorsement, Li Dong had made up his mind. He would follow this method step by step.
With this method, plus the attribute boosts he could get at any time...
Li Dong felt like he was about to take off.
Just as Li Dong had finished thanking Joule and said he would have his nephew try it...
The bell for evening self-study rang.
The classroom door was pushed open, and Old Yang walked in, carrying the stack of test papers he hadn’t finished going over.
"Everyone, quiet down!"
"Take out your test papers. We’re picking up where we left off this afternoon!"
"And Li Dong, stop hiding your phone under your book. You think I can’t see it?"
Li Dong quickly stuffed his phone into his pocket.
The whole class erupted in laughter.
