Life Lessons from Reinforcement Learning
Published:Jul 16, 2025 01:29
•1 min read
•Jason Wei
Analysis
This article draws a compelling analogy between reinforcement learning (RL) principles and personal development. The author effectively argues that while imitation learning (e.g., formal education) is crucial for initial bootstrapping, relying solely on it hinders individual growth. True potential is unlocked by exploring one's own strengths and learning from personal experiences, mirroring the RL concept of being "on-policy." The comparison to training language models for math word problems further strengthens the argument, highlighting the limitations of supervised finetuning compared to RL's ability to leverage a model's unique capabilities. The article is concise, relatable, and offers a valuable perspective on self-improvement.
Key Takeaways
Reference
“Instead of mimicking other people’s successful trajectories, you should take your own actions and learn from the reward given by the environment.”