HOW TO LEARN (QUALITATIVELY AND

QUANTITATIVELY)

As we have learned so much, it would be difficult to be expressed in long

The Brain

The brain is the most complex system in the known universe. With far more
capability of the world’s fastest computers. But we are not conscious of the way
the brain works with most of the heavy lifting taking place in the subconscious.
Your brain is active even when resting. An old view of the brain suggested that the
patterns of synapses would not change much once the brain matured. But we
now know that new synapses can always be formed, and others are lost. New
synapses forms are formed when you sleep, so you wake up with a different brain
than when you went to sleep. That’s interesting. Practice will help strengthen
neural connections in the process of learning. Math and science use symbols that
have no emotion attached to them and are not analogous to anything in nature so
they will need to be practiced more. A thought pattern is when neurons become
linked through repeated use. The more abstract the ideas are, the more, you will
need to repeat them through practice. Practice makes permanent! Scientists
believe we have two major memory systems, Long-term memory, and Working
Memory, you can bring long-term memories into your working memory so you can
think about it. Working memory is the part of memory that controls what you are
immediately working on and processing in your mind. Long term memories are
more like a warehouse and are stored in different areas of the brain. The long
term memory has room for billions of items. Long term memory is important
because it is where you store new techniques you are learning. Everything you
learn will first be entered into your working memory and to transfer it to your
long-term memory will take time and effort. Sleep helps you think clearly, getting
too little sleep makes you do worse on tests and perform poorly and sleep
deprivation over a long time causes many health issues. Sleep helps reinforce the
neural patterns that you are working to develop. It has also been shown to help
with deeper problem solving. This diffused mode of problem solving has to be
activated by doing focused style learning first.

Chunking

When you first look at a new concept, it is where you unite scrambled information
into one piece through giving it meaning. It is the opposite of mere memorization.
By chunking, you can then see how the information relates to other items and
subjects. Chunking is like taking many computer files and turning them into a
single zip file. The concept of chunks pertains to academic information but is also
in sports and music or any other skill that can be learned. Learning a song on a
guitar can be considered a large chunk, it involves listening, watching and acting.
Grasping a song you may need to break it up into mini chunks of the song and
learning certain parts of the song first and then piecing it all together. Piecing all
the mini chunks together into a larger chunk is the process of chunking. This
process can be applied to sports when learning certain techniques.
Focused Attention: When you first begin to learn a technique you create new
neural patterns that connect with existing neural patterns, this requires your
focus so that your brain is not having its attention divided.
Understanding: Understanding the information you are attempting to chunk is
also crucial, you can focus and use your focused and diffused modes to get the
gist or vibe of the idea.
Practice: Learning a chunk will also require understanding the context of the
chunk, so you know when to use it and when not to use it and how it fits into the
bigger picture. Practice will help you broaden the neurons connected to your
chunk.
Recall: Simply re-reading knowledge is not as useful as looking away after reading
and attempting to see as much as you can recall. Retrieving knowledge is not just
a mindless robotic process, but the recall process helps build neural hooks that
knowledge is hung upon. Motivation is essential to learning. If you are not
motivated about a topic, it is a lot harder to learn.
Procrastination

Building stable long term memory takes time, and you cannot put off until the last
minute. Real learning takes time and cannot be done by simply cramming
information. That is why you need to avoid procrastination. We procrastinate
about things that make us feel uncomfortable; you shift focus to something more
enjoyable which gives you a temporary feeling of happiness but can cause long
term unhappiness. Procrastination is a bad habit that can influence many different
areas in your life. Consider procrastination like poison. It is deadly to you, but you
can build up a tolerance by ingesting small doses of it.
Four parts of a habit: Habits can be good, bad or neutral. They can have four
parts, the cue that launches the trigger. The routine, habitual response that you
will fall into after you receive the prompt. The reward you receive from going
through with the routine that helps form and cements your habit. The belief in
habits gives them power to change a habit you need to change your underlying
conviction.
The journey, not the destination: Focus on the process, not the product. Focus on
spending the time working, not what will be produced at the end of the time
which you may consider unpleasant and cause procrastination.
Changing your habit: The only place you need to focus your willpower on
changing a habit is to change your reaction to the cue. Recognise your cues and
what launch you into your procrastination habit. They usually fall into four
categories, location, time, how you feel and reactions. The routine is where you
must actively rewire your habit, to do this you must make a plan for what to do
next time you notice your cue has triggered your habit. You will need to find out
what your reward is for your habit and see what it is and what it can be
substituted for that is beneficial. You will need also to change your belief system
and believe that your plan to change your habits will work.
Life and learning: Once a week write a list of essential tasks in a journal. Then
write a daily “to do” that you can easily work on. Write your daily “to do” the
night before, so your subconscious mind can work on the topics. Plan your day,
especially your quitting time! Break times are also important to have planned.
Tackle your most difficult tasks first, so you do not procrastinate them all day.
Commit yourself to a routine each day.

Memory

Human brains have a superior visual memory system. We can look to tap into this
visual memory system to help us remember non-visual memories by associating
them with an image. We can enhance this further by association the sounds and
feel that the image creates. The more memorable of a picture that we associate
with a chunk of information they more vividly we will be able to remember it. This
visual image still needs to be repeated to help form the neural connections.
Handwriting ideas appear to help establish the neural connections the best.

Unlocking Your Potential

Being able to use your mind’s eye and visualize has been responsible for many
breakthroughs in both art and science. We can learn physical actions by repetition
to create muscle memory. But chess masters, surgeons, and fighter pilots have to
make complex decisions in split seconds, so they have to shut down their
conscious and go by intuition. As an idea you are already holding in mind can
block new thoughts.

The imposter syndrome: Even if you are highly proficient in a topic you feel like
you are getting lucky or that you will be found out as a fraud. This feeling happens
to a lot of people. Perseverance can outwork talent if you free yourself from
cognitive bias.

Teamwork: The best way to catch your blind spots and prevent yourself from
fooling yourself is to brainstorm and collaboration with other people who have
knowledge of the subject. If you work on your own, you can lead yourself to
believe you have a much higher level of competence than you possess.
A checklist for tests: Test taking is a powerful learning experience, you retain far
more information from taking test and practice testing than from merely studying.
The following questions are used to quantify if you have done all you can before
taking a test. Did you make a serious effort to understand the text? Did you work
with classmates to check solutions? Did you outline every test solution? Did you
actively participate in active group discussion? Did you consult with tutors if you
didn’t understand something? Did you carefully go through a study guide?