BBC Knowledge Asia Edition - December 2014

Resource

A feast for the mind

They say we learn something new

every day, but have you ever wondered

how our brains actually hold on to all

that information?

In How We Learn, Benedict Carey

delves into the science of learning, using

the latest research to provide practical

tips on how to improve our study habits,

whether we’re cramming for that crucial

exam, perfecting our Portuguese or

attempting to master the mandolin. Along

the way, he disperses some common

myths surrounding the supposed worst

enemies of learning: laziness, ignorance

and distraction.

The book begins with a look at the

biology of memory. Carey uses the

analogy of a film crew to describe how

the brain’s modules work together to

provide a “continually updating record of

past, present, and possible future”. The film

in question is the story of your life, and

the director is you. In other words, you

can manipulate the memory process to

your advantage.

Of course, to know what memory is,

we need to know about forgetting. Carey

challenges the notion that to forget is

to fail, describing how the brain has to

apply filters in order for memory to work

effectively. As he explains, we are not the

victims of forgetting: focused forgetting

is in fact part of how a healthy brain

handles memory.

What about when we find ourselves

easily distracted – surely that’s a hindrance

to learning? Not necessarily. Carey

believes that distraction provides the

opportunity for ideas to incubate in

our minds. Procrastination can actually

work in our favour, as it allows the brain

to work on a problem subconsciously

while we do something else. Carey also

promotes ‘interleaving’ – mixing up

subjects and techniques - arguing that

varied practice is more effective than

repetition because it provides a sense of

surprise. This is ideal for learning, because

the brain is tuned to identify incongruities.

Perhaps the most exciting part of this

learners’ bible is the section on perceptual

learning. This happens automatically, all the

time, and it can be exploited to speed up

our learning of specific skills. Indeed, Carey

predicts a future where perceptual learning

is central in training surgeons, scientists,

pilots and crime scene investigators.

Carey has turned my understanding of

learning on its head. He offers a unique

insight into memory, and I’ll definitely be

using some of these strategies myself.

Where’s the best place to study?

The best approach is to make your

learning independent of any one

environment. So study in a quiet room,

then with music, inside, outside, at a

café... Over time, this builds an

independent knowledge that’s not tied to

one particular area. Some people who only

study in one place become almost

mentally dependent on that place. So the

answer to your question is ‘change it up’.

How about revision? Does cramming

work, or should we pace ourselves?

Pace yourselves. Cramming works fine,

but it doesn’t last. If you space the

available study time and break it up into

chunks according to a schedule, you’ll

remember at least as much, and for far

longer. This is one of the oldest findings

in psychology – it goes back to the very

first learning scientist Hermann

Ebbinghaus in the 1800s – and scientists

have since run all sorts of experiments to

show that spaced study almost always

wins [versus cramming].

Should we worry about distractions

like Facebook and emails?

Distraction is bad if you need continuous

attention – if you’re driving or if you’re

listening to a lecture. However, in certain

kinds of learning, distraction can be very

helpful when you’re stuck. The brain is no

longer directly working on the problem, but

it is working on it subconsciously. It’s

rearranging things a little, playing with the

information ‘offline’, and this can give you

new insights. The distraction can also

cause some forgetting to happen, so that

you let go of some of the wrong ideas that

you had in the first place.

Benedict

Carey

How We Learn

The Surprising Truth About When,

Where And Why It Happens

Benedict Carey

Macmillan

DR NICOLA DAVIES is a psychologist and health writer

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“Carey describes

how the brain

has to apply

filters in order

for memory to

work effectively”

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