How I Finished a 12-Hour Linux Course in 4 Hours (Thanks to an LLM) 🚀
A step-by-step breakdown of how I learned faster and smarter using Perplexity
A few days ago, I decided to finally get serious about Linux. I had a 12-hour “Mastering Linux” course sitting in my downloads folder for weeks. You know how it goes - intentions are great, but time is limited.
Typically, finishing a course like this the “normal” way would take upwards of 20 hours. Between watching the videos, pausing to take notes, and practicing commands on a terminal, it’s a commitment.
But I didn’t do it the normal way.
Instead, I fast-tracked the entire course in just 4 hours - without skipping a single concept - and came out confident enough to apply what I learned. The trick? I used an LLM (Large Language Model) as my study assistant.
🧠 My Setup: LLM + Subtitles = Accelerated Learning
Here’s how I pulled it off:
1. Downloaded all subtitles (.srt files) from the course - section by section.
2. Used Perplexity.ai (it’s free for Airtel customers in India - small wins!) as my assistant.
3. Sent the following prompt for each subtitle file:
“You are my assistant. Your task is to summarize the subtitles of the course I’m learning. Please create concise and complete content from the subtitle files. Make sure not to miss any important points and avoid adding unnecessary information. Additionally, please include practice questions based on the content so I can test myself.”
Perplexity gave me well-structured summaries, stripped of fluff, and even generated practice questions for each video.
This meant I didn’t need to sit through someone explaining chmod for 20 mins when I could absorb the key points in 5 mins.
⏱️ Time Breakdown: LLM vs Traditional Learning
Here’s how the time requirement compares between learning the “traditional” way vs the LLM-powered way:
🧠 Net Savings: ~16.5 - 19.5 hours
That’s nearly 80% of time saved - without skipping any content or compromising depth of understanding.
🔄 Learn → Summarize → Practice
Instead of passively watching and rewatching videos, I actively learned by:
* Reading the LLM-generated summary
* Practicing the commands in a real terminal
* Testing myself using the questions it gave me
In the end, I covered 100% of the course content and even understood it better than I would have via traditional methods. The mental model was cleaner. My time investment was lower. And I still retained the material.
⚖️ The Pros and Cons of Learning This Way
Pros:
Time-efficient: You can cover content 3x faster without losing depth.
Active recall built-in: Practice questions help reinforce learning immediately.
On-demand clarity: If something’s unclear, you can follow up with another prompt.
Ideal for linear topics: For subjects like Linux, networking, programming, etc., it works incredibly well.
Cons:
You lose the instructor’s voice: The nuances, real-world anecdotes, and “why it matters” moments may be missed.
LLMs can hallucinate: Though rare in this context, you need to spot-check answers.
Not ideal for creative topics: Subjects like design, writing, or philosophy may require more human interpretation.
Can promote passive learning if misused: If you just read summaries without practicing, it’s no better than skimming a blog post.
🧩 Final Thoughts: LLMs Don’t Replace Learning, They Reshape It
This wasn’t about hacking my way to the finish line. It was about restructuring the process to suit how I learn best.
LLMs like Perplexity (or ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) aren’t magic bullets. But they’re powerful accelerators if you use them right.
In a world where time is our most limited resource, using AI to compress learning without compromising comprehension might just be the biggest productivity unlock of our time.
So, the next time you download a 12-hour course, maybe don’t set aside your entire weekend.
Instead, try setting up a 4-hour sprint - with a little help from your LLM sidekick.