Cover sheet

Overview
This document is a summary of my understanding of the learning process in
the context of problem-solving and life-long learning.

How the project will be used

The main purpose of redacting this document is to clarify the ideas to myself
and to be used as a guide I can offer others interested in efficient learning

Three main topics

The 3 main topics covered from the course Learning how to learn are: (A) Metaphor, story, and
visualization in learning; (B) Life-long learning and broadening your passions; (C) Focused and
diffuse modes of thinking.

Learning and problem solving

In a general sense, learning is adaptation to a changing environment, the acquisitions of skills
and knowledge. Here, I will use learning in the more restricted sense of acquiring factual and
procedural knowledge relative to some academic, trade, or skill body of knowledge.
The human body and the human brain are systems that have evolved to meet the survival
challenges of our forbearers. The human brain is not a device for abstract thought and
academic achievement. To hack effective learning techniques, it is useful to have a basic
understanding of how the human brain works. Some general observations to keep in mind:
1. Humans evolved in an environment that required a relaxed mind that perceived subtle
cues of patterns of weather, pray, and predators, and the ability to switch to a focused
semiautomatic mode of intense struggle to overcome imminent danger.
2. Most mental activity is instinctual, automatic, habit-driven, and subconscious. Focused
mode is stressful, requires effort, and cannot be keep up for extended periods of time.
3. Focused mode is risk-avoiding. Diffused mode is playful and relaxed.
4. Emotions and sensory--rich stimuli drive memory and learning. Different individuals
have differentiated preference for the senses, but in general vision and kinesthetic
sensations are dominant or at least significant for the majority.
5. Most animals have "built in clocks" in their brains that regulate the timing of biological
processes and daily behavior. These "clocks" are known as circadian rhythms. They
allow maintenance of these processes and behaviors relative to the 24-hour day/night
cycle in nature. Of the various factors that influence this entrainment, light exposure to
the eyes is the strongest. Humans have various circadian rhythms, often referred to as
the body clock or the biological clock, control processes that re-occur daily, e.g. body
temperature, alertness, and hormone secretion as well as sleep timing. Thus, a
person's body is ready for sleep and for wakefulness at relatively specific times of the
day.
6. Storytelling is the primordial teaching and learning form for humans. Storytelling
predated or developed with language itself. Imitation and mimicking, the fundamental
learning mode, predates humans.
The modern urban world is alien to the conditions where humans developed. Academic
learning is mismatched to the natural functioning of the human mind. Academic exams are
artificial, high pressure situations, that require taming and learning.

Metaphor, story, and visualization in learning

For most people, abstract thinking is limited and straining. Most people remember images
better than verbal or written information. The human mind works well with concrete visual
information in a spatial-referenced context. Even a great a theoretical physicist as Richard
Feynman described his thinking as intuitive and using imagined manipulation of visual images.
This way of acting with explicit attention to concrete representations of the abstract
relationships one is handling is called mathematical visualization.
Learning through storytelling refers to a process in which learning is structured around a
narrative or story. Stories are everywhere in human life and can be termed narrative, case
study, life history, myth, anecdote, legend, scenario, illustration or example, storytelling and/or
critical incident.
People instinctively organize their thoughts as stories. Storytelling contextualize a situation into
an emotional sensory-rich environment. Well-crafted stories engage, inform, and inspire and
inevitably resonate with us over time. Our brains are hard-wired to think and express in terms
of a beginning, middle and end. It's how we understand the world. Stories have always carried
messages even before written language.
Stories are the emotional glue that connects the audience to the message and reshape facts
into something meaningful. For millennia people, have used stories to pass on knowledge.
Culture is knowledge embedded in the context of a story.
Stories make people care, a story may serve as catharsis and motivation. Stories can motivate
an audience toward a learning goal. An encouraging story will inspire to act.
Raw data are meaningless numbers, disconnected to personal experience, but when the data
is placed in the context of a story, it comes alive.
One can use metaphor and allegory to concretize abstract content. In fact, this is basically
what mythology and religion do: anthropomorphize abstract concepts and natural forces.
Irfan Naufal Umar and Tie Hui Hui investigated the influence of learning style preference on
learning C++ language. The results indicated that visual and verbal oriented students, taught
using metaphor, performed significantly better in the quality of codes, and made fewer
mistakes during coding than those in the control groups.
Meaning is highly personal; therefore, the most effective stories are those designed by oneself.
To enhance the learning effectiveness of a concept driven teaching case scenario, three
general strategies are helpful: tension, emotion, and visualization. After identifying learning
goals and deciding how to present, illustrate, and support the content with a fable.
In learning German, for example, Germans have the word: Eselsbrcken or Donkeys
bridges, which are either words which sound like one word that you already knew, so the only
thing you must do is remember the word that you already knew. You can remember word or
expression lists by creating a metaphor, story, or visualization. Everyone has their
own Eselsbrcken word material, just look inside your thoughts when you hear a new word and
make associations.
Images are concrete, thus, with visualization and association you convert abstract information
into easy-to-remember mental pictures. These images are mental hooks that retrieve

information from long-term memory. If you can't focus, you won't remember what you are trying
to learn; visualization forces you to focus because you are actively using the material. To
change facts into mental images, you must focus. Creating mental images does take a few
moments, but if you practice a little each day, you will get faster. If you have trouble seeing
images in your mind's eye, try sketching the images on paper. This is known as memory
cartooning.

Life-long learning and broadening your passions

I have a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering, I am a teacher and a life-long learner.
Besides I have an interest in understanding brain and mind. It has been always
my motivation to understand the processes of thinking.
The main lesson I have learned regarding learning in life is that it is not enough
to know, I must apply and live what I know. Facts that are not integrated into a
lifestyle do not constitute knowledge. It is impossible to be 100% congruent,
but a high effort to achieve it is warranted. One must keep an open mind and
change ones mind when there is evidence that believes are wrong. Yet, it is
very important to apply what one already knows and used what I must
generate new knowledge by myself trough practice and social interaction.
Nowadays, I am studying the climate, human group dynamics, and languages.
Languages are one of my hobbies and a nice experimental body to test
techniques on fast and deep learning. Because I am extremely curious I drift
into different subjects and it is very hard for me to keep focused and work
efficiently on specific projects. One way to compensate for this habit is to have
a purpose, a goal, and the courage to pursue it.
Lifelong learning requires embracing opportunities to learn. One must accept
change, and different life stages present different changes, but at any age, it is
possible to learn, adapt, and contribute. Keep active and believe in yourself.

Focused and diffuse modes of thinking.

The ideas of fast and slow thinking modes of Kahneman, and the related idea of
diffused and focus thinking presented in this course are intriguing and useful.
Most mental activity is instinctual, automatic, habit-driven, and subconscious.
Focused mode is stressful, requires effort, and cannot be keep up for extended
periods of time. Focused mode is risk-avoiding. Diffused mode is playful and
relaxed. From the perspective of problem-solving one can hack the dual
thinking mode by splitting the problem-solving process in two stages:
1. First, a relaxed diffuse search mode where one is looking for the initial
approach and the boundaries and correct frame to tackle the problem. In
this stages unstructured techniques like stream of consciousness,
brainstorming, mind-mapping, etc. are helpful. In this stage one needs a
free flow of ideas and it is premature and counterproductive to apply
critical thinking to filter ideas.
2. Once the problem is put into a frame, parametrized, and bounded, it is
time to focus on the mechanics of working out the details. At this stage,

it is productive to immerse in the process of a flow experience as

described by Csikzentmihalyi.
The brain is a product of evolution and the modern life conditions are alien to
the conditions that produced the brain. It is a challenge to live in a way that is
natural and conforming to modern social conventions and conditions.

Key techniques proven by research to help students

learn most efficiently
One central concept is the idea of long and working memory and spaced
repetition: Really tricking the subconscious into believing that arbitrary content
is relevant. Spaced repetition is a learning technique that incorporates
increasing intervals of time between subsequent review of previously learned
material to exploit the psychological spacing effect. Alternative names include
spaced rehearsal, expanding rehearsal, graduated intervals, repetition spacing,
repetition scheduling, spaced retrieval, and expanded retrieval. Although the
principle is useful in many contexts, spaced repetition is commonly applied in
contexts in which a learner must acquire many items and retain them
indefinitely in memory. It is, therefore, well suited, for example, for the problem
of vocabulary acquisition in language learning. Im currently using the Anki
application to apply the technique of spaced repetition to foreign language
learning.
One of the dilemmas facing a learner is the seductive nature of blocked
practice. Performance improves fast and learning seems to be optimal by
focusing on one thing at a time. However, research has shown that the longterm effects of a more variable approach, where multiple things are practiced
mixed together, are much more beneficial than blocked practice. Yet, there also
the aspect of active and passive learning that is compound with and obscures
the issue of interleaved vs blocked practice.
It turns out that spaced repetition and interleaved practice are related because
for learning it is important, not only reinforcement and repetition, but inhibition,
forgetting, and context switching. Spatial and time context switching slows
learning, but produce a stronger long term memories and a better ability to
transfer skills form known contexts to novel ones.

Illusions of learning
It is better to test oneself than reread study material. To learn a skill is better
(only way?) to practice the skill under the conditions that the skill is used in
real life.

Memory
To learn factual data one can use the memory palace technique. The memory
palace can be combined with visualization and storytelling.

Chunking
Content chunking refers to the strategy of making a more efficient use of our
short-term memory by grouping various pieces of information together. When
information is chunked into groups, the brain can process them easier and
faster. Find patterns to chunk information and data.
The mechanism used to convey the list of items to the individual affects how
much "chunking" occurs. Auditory presentation results in a larger amount of
grouping as compared to visual presentation. When "chunking" is used as a
strategy, one can expect a higher proportion of correct recalls.

Sleep
From physiological, psychological, and learning perspectives it is necessary to
have normal sleeping patterns. Sleep deprivation will lead to health and
psychological problems. Exams in orthodox academic settings promote
cramming because blocking and concentrated practice is effective for short
term performance in standard curricula testing.
It is possible to prime the subconscious to work on an unresolved problem
during sleep. For example, The Silva Method has the glass of water ritual: Just
before sleeping, get a glass of water. While drinking approximately half of the
water, close your eyes, turn them slightly upward, and say to yourself, This is
all I need to do to find the solution to the problem I have in mind. Then, put
away the remaining water, go to sleep. Upon awakening, drink the remaining
water, close your eyes, turning your eyes slightly upward, and say to yourself,
This is all I need to do to find the solution to the problem I have in mind.

Transfer of ideas and concepts from one area to

another
Deep learning achieved by reconstructing knowledge from first principles and
mindful practice can be transfer to different domains. A striking historical
example is the successful use of physicists, philosophers, writers, as engineers
and intelligence officers by the US and Britain during the Second World War.

Deliberate practice
Its better to struggle with difficult material than merrily rote practicing known
skills. That been said, It is important to keep a beginners mind and always be
mindful of the fundamentals of the art.

Procrastination
Make it convenient to work on what needs to be done, and eliminate as much
as possible procrastination triggers from the environment.

Mindset
Have a purpose. Do not do meaningless things. Set SMART (S - specific,
significant, stretching; M - measurable, meaningful, motivational; A - agreed
upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented; R - realistic, relevant,
reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented; T - time-based, time-bound, timely,
tangible, trackable) goals and a plan to achieve them.

Working with others in learning

Humans are social creatures. To move the knowledge-envelop forward, it is
essential to work with a team. Learning is a personal endeavor, but in isolation
a persons ideas will stale. For most people, prolonged social isolation is
unhealthy. Psychological experiments on the effects of isolation and sensory
deprivation had to be called off due to the extreme and bizarre reactions of
those involved.
To find appropriate study partners is not trivial, look for someone about your
level or a mentor. It is also useful to help others if they are interested in
working to get better. Do not offer help, but be open to requests for assistance.

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