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| Question | Answer |
| Researchers have found that we have two fundamentally different modes of thinking. Here, I'll call them the Focused and the Diffuse modes. | |
| Diffuse | to spread or cause to spread in all directions. |
| But most people don't really connect those dots, and that impact will be diffuse, over time. | |
| We're familiar with focusing. It's when you concentrate intently on something you're trying to learn or to understand. But we're not so familiar with diffuse thinking. Turns out that this more relaxed thinking style is related to a set of neural resting states. | |
| Incidentally, both metaphor and analogy are really helpful when you're trying to learn something new. | |
| Metaphor | A figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our God.”. |
| Analogy | A similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based: |
| I see no analogy between your problem and mine. | |
| In the diffuse mode of thinking, you can look at things broadly from a very different, big-picture perspective. You can make new neural connections travelling along new pathways. | |
| Now as far as neuroscientists know right now, you're either in the focused mode or the diffuse mode of thinking. It seems you can't be in both thinking modes at the same time. It's kind of like a coin. We can see either one side or the other side of the coin. But not both sides at the same time. Being in one mode seems to limit your access to the other mode's way of thinking. | |
| Mindfulness | A technique in which one focuses one's full attention only on the present, experiencing thoughts, feelings, and sensations but not judging them: |
| You'll hear experts from a variety of different disciplines talking about their best tips for learning more effectively. | |
| Some human brain weighs three pounds, but it consumes ten times more energy by weight than the rest of the body, a very expensive organ. It is the most complex device in the known universe. All of your thoughts, your hopes, your fears are in the neurones. | |
| Neurones | A cell that carries messages between the brain and other parts of the body and that is the basic unit of the nervous system |
| Working memory | Working memory is the part of memory that has to do with what you're immediately and consciously processing in your mind. Your working memory is centered out of the prefrontal cortex, although there are also connections to other parts of your brain, so you can access long-term memories. |
| Long term memory | The phase of memory responsible for the storage of information for an extended period of time. |
| Creative thinkers throughout history, whatever their discipline, have found ways to access the diffuse mode, often more directly and quickly. But we all access this mode quite naturally when we do things like go for a walk or take a shower or even just drift off to sleep. | |
| The focused mode involves a direct approach to solving problems using rational, sequential, analytical approaches. It is associated with the concentrating abilities of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, located right behind your forehead. | |
| Some speed reading claims can be tossed aside immediately. Claims that you can read a book as fast as you can flip through a phone book are completely impossible on anatomical and neurological levels. | Some speed reading claims can be tossed aside immediately. Claims that you can read a book as fast as you can flip through a phone book are completely impossible on anatomical and neurological levels. |
| Anatomy | the science dealing with the structure of animals and plants. |
| Neurology [noo-rol-uh-jee, nyoo-] | The science of the nerves and the nervous system, especially of the diseases affecting them. |
| In some cases, the strategies discussed have limited applicability or benefit. | In some cases, the strategies discussed have limited applicability or benefit. |
| Demeanor [dih-mee-ner] | Conduct; Behavior; Deportment. |
| It was very clear from his demeanor that he was not going to discuss it. | |
| If you have a library of concepts and solutions internalized as chunked patterns, you can think of it as a collection or a library of neural patterns. When you're trying to figure something out, if you have a good library of these chunks, you can more easily skip to the right solution by metaphorically speaking, listening to whispers from your diffuse mode. | |
| Serendipity [ser-uh n-dip-i-tee] | An aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident. |
| Laws of Serendipity | (1) In order to discover anything, you must be looking for something. _____________________________________ (2) If you wish to make an improved product, you must already be engaged in making an inferior one. |
| Chunks can help you understand new concepts through a process called______? | Transfer |
| Einstellung | Einstellung is the development of a mechanized state of mind. Often called a problem-solving set, Einstellung refers to a person's predisposition to solve a given problem in a specific manner even though better or more appropriate methods of solving the problem exist. |
| The German word "Einstellung" means..... | Mindset |
| Understanding how to obtain real solutions is important in learning and in life. | |
| Mastering a new subject means learning not only the basic chunks but also learning how to select and use different chunks. The best way to learn that is by practicing jumping back and forth between problems or situations that require different techniques or strategies. This is called interleaving. | Interleaving |
| Interleaving | The best way to learn that is by practicing jumping back and forth between problems or situations that require different techniques or strategies. |
| When you interleave within one subject or one discipline, you begin to develop your creative power within that discipline. | |
| When you interleave between several subjects or disciplines, you can more easily make interesting new connections between chunks in the different fields, which can enhance your creativity even further. | |
| Commonality [kom-uh-nal-i-tee] | A sharing of features or characteristics in common; possession or manifestation of common attributes. |
| The tone of the original series is vastly different, with few points of commonality | |
| Wit | The ability to use words in a clever and humorous way. |
| A man of great intelligence and wit | |
| Scintillating (sɪn.tɪ.leɪ.tɪŋ) | Funny, exciting, and clever: |
| A scintillating personality/speech | |
| Rote learning [roht] | learning something in order to be able to repeat it from memory, rather than in order to understand it. |
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