My Story - first part

I will tell you how I started on my own app.

I am a physics Ph.D. and always been very curious. I always thought that physicists have a very different opinion on knowledge and learning: I cannot and will not learn something that I do not understand. The following quote shows that:

“Education is not the learning of facts, it’s rather the training of the mind to think.“ - Albert Einstein

When I come across the Birkenbihl method for brain-friendly learning, I was instantly drawn to it. She made a very strong point between learning things by heart and learning with a deeper understanding. I tested the methods and was surprised by how much you can do with them.

In summer 2019 I am thinking about changing my work to software development. My current job is close to the topic of my Ph.D. thesis. It is a good fit, but it feels like I cannot do that until I retire. If you come from a physics background, it is possible to shift to informatics, although the computer scientist will always make a big fuss about the difference. I am looking at languages like Python or C#.

In September 2019 I have the idea to bring the Birkenbihl method to a mobile device, which would distribute it worldwide. That would mean I have to do it myself and will need to have a start-up. I was never having the wish or thought to do that. It seems I have to make a decision. So I am starting the app development next to my work. The first task is to learn the iOS programing language Swift (I am not going in the detail of why here, because this is not important for the story).

In January 2019 I realize that students are using more and more iPads as their primary studying tool. People are looking for smart learning apps. A learning iPad app with the Birkenbihl ABC-lists would be extraordinary.

In February 2019 A research about currently available apps makes me think, that people underuse the iPad capabilities. Unfortunately people made apps with strategies that work against the natural thinking process of human brains. I know that people use flashcard, mindmaps and revision apps. But these only help you learn things by heart and give you a false feeling of being productive and efficient. My learning goal is to first understand the new information, learn it and therefor be able to use it later. It is more effort in the beginning, but it will pay off exponentially later.

End of February 2019 I quit my full time job in Switzerland, which I hate with the bottom of my heart. It seem to have had a primary advantage: an average or decent job would not have made me push for new opportunities like this. This certainly serves as a live experience on what person I do not want to become. If you want to know what can happen, just look at your college that have been there a long time.

June 2019 I am now self-employed and adventurous to see what can happen when your have a start-up. First experience: German bureaucracy is famous for being a pain in the ass and it well deserves that reputation. (I probably overdo it because I do not like paper work.)

To Be Continued ...