chunking

• a chunk is like creating a zip file of many ideas
  • like stitching together a word from letters
• a chunk is a piece of information neurologically speaking
  • a symphony of neurons firing together
  • to think a thought or do an action
• focussed mode learning helps start forming chunks
  • but stress, anger and fear block this

forming chunks

• grasping small patterns of the big picture
• then graudaully knitting them together

• when done with proper learning technqiues, leads to the ability of doing it without applying much thought

• chunking for every topic is a bit different
• however, the underlying mental scheme is the same
  • get the main idea first
  • then break it into as many pieces as possible

• seeing the problem being solved helps provife the big picture

• just because the problem solving process was observed, expertise isnt implied
  • aha != expertise
• many things are understood only after it is done without looking at the sample provided
  • like seeing a painting or listening to a song desnt mean you can create it
• there are three elements in the scheme of chunking
  • big picture
  • context
  • chunks
• top down process: big-picture and context linking
• botton up process: chucnk and context linking
• mastery requires both these linkings to happen correctly
  • focussed attention
  • understanding with diffused leanring
  • temporally spaced practise

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illusions of competence

• typically re-doing the material learned is used to develop further understanding
  • however, this is counter productive and inefficient
  • it is more useful to try to recall what was read the first time
    • without looking
    • this is the recall technique
    • to be used instead of re-doing method
  • the recall process itself aids deeper learning
    • helps forms better chunks for firing neurons
• the only time re-doing helps is when there more time between two iterations
  • as this works as a spaced repetition
  • there needs to be a sleep and wake cycle between each iteration

• sometimes taking notes and writing down material can fool the brain into thinking you’ve learnt the material

• mnistakes are helpful to find out holes in understanding
• mistakes can be corrected bit by bit to improve depth and quality of understanding
  • and this is why tests exist

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ease of learning

• it is harder to learn when there is no inderest in the topic
• it is easy to learn when motivated and interested in the topic
  • this is becasue the neurons in the cortex carry information about what is happening around you
  • and actions
• brain also has diffusely projecting systems of neuromodulators that carry information
  • these carry information about the value of the experience content
  • not the content itself

neuromodulators

• includes (not limited to) acetylcholine, dopamine, and serotonin
• these have a profound impact on unconscious mind

acetylcholine

• these neurons form neuromodulatory connection to the cortex that are particulary important for focused learning when paying lcose attention
• project widely and activate circuits that control synaptic palsticity leading to new long term memory

dopamine

• dopamine allegedly ‘controls’ motivation
  • they are a part of a large reward-learning system
• dopamine is found in small set of neurons in the mid-brain
  • partcularly in the basal ganglia just above the mid-brain
  • below the cortex of the top brain
• dopamine signals project widely and have a powerful effect on learning
  • they are released when we receive and unexpected reward
  • also affects decision-making and the value of the sensory inputs
• dopamine is in the business of precdicting future rewards
  • not just the immediate rewards
  • this can motivate you to do something right now that may be not a instataneously rewarding
  • but may lead to a better reward in the future
• addictive drugs artificially increase dopamine activity and fool brain into thinking that something wornderful has happened
  • leads ot craving and dependence which can hijack free will
  • and motivate harmful behavior
• loss of dopamine neurons leads to lack of motivation and
  • something called “anhedoina”
  • which is a loss of interest in things that once gave you pleasure
• severe loss of dopamine neurons causes resting tremors, slowness, rigidity, parkinson’s disease
  • ultimately leads to catatonia, a complete lack of any movement
• dopamine neurons are part of the unconscious brain
• when using reward-promise in the pomodoro technique, it is essentially tapping into the dopamine mechanism

serotonin

• diffuse neuromodulatory system that strongly affects social life
• in monkey troops, the alpha male has the highest level of serotonin activity
• lowest ranking male has lowest ranking activity
• prozac, which is the medication for clinical depression,
  • increases serotonin activity
• serotonin is also closely related risk-taking behavior
  • higher risk in lower serotonin monkeys
• jailed inmates have the lowest recorded levels of serotonin

emotions

• emotions strongly affect learning
• emotions are entwined with perception, and attention span

• emotions interact with learning and memory

• the amygdala is a part of the limbic system
  • along with the hippocampus, is involved in memory and decision-making
  • regulating emotional reactions

• the amygdala must be happy to be an effective learner

• emotions and neuromodulatory systems are slower than perception and action
  • but hold same importance in learning process

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value of chunk library

• historically, combining chunks in new and ‘orignal’ ways has given rise to innovation
• read about machine learning algorithms making discoveries that were hidden in old research literature, but not realized in reality
• people gradually build the number fo chunks in their brain to increase knowledge and gain ‘expertise’
  • chunks are specifically valuable pieces of information
  • that can be pieced together in new ways
• applies to musicians, linguists and scientists
  • bigger and better the mental chunk library for the given field
    • easier it is to solve problems and figure out solutions

transfer

• chunking helps understand new concepts
  • when one chunk is grasped, it can be linked to related chunks in surprising ways
  • not only in that particular field, but different fields
  • this is called ‘transfer’

• chunking is only one of the components of developing of creative flexibility in learning

• a chunk is a way of expressing ideas more compactly
  • when organizing chunks, different types and concepts are identified
  • this helps in grasping new things more easiliy

sequential and intuitive (holistic)

• chunks are useful for step-by-step organization during learning

• and enable global intuitive access while retrieving memorized and understood information

• most difficult problems and concepts are grasped through intuition
• diffuse mode is an almost random way of making connections
  • these need to be verified using the focussed mode while solidifying learning
  • intuitive insights aren’t always correct

law of serendipity

• lady luck favors the one who tries
• the first piece of concept might be hard to grasp
  • but the secodn chunk goes in easier
  • the third easier still

overlearing

• practising over and over again during the same session
• a little repetetion is useful and necessary
• continued learning after mastering the content is called overlearning
• it can produce automaticity in contexts of tennis and playing muscial insturments
• it can be helpful for people not comfortable with public speaking, or when you choke on tests
• automaticity is helpful in times of nervousness
• however overlearning costs a lot in terms of learning time

illusion of competence

• overlearning leads ot illusion of competence
• it also leads to the thinking that bashing in something will fix things and learning new things is just simply overlearning
• these are slow strategies and drain motivation chemicals
• hammering away at the same content in a study session doesnt strengthen the material learned
  • it is important to include sleep cycles between repetetions
• time can be wasted automaticizing the easy stuff and not even going simple mastery over the diffucult things
• there should be deliberate attempt to tackle difficult topics during learning

einstellung

• means mindset in german

• a pattern already developed in your mind or a neural pattern you’ve already developed and strengthened may prevent a better idea or solution from being found

• in the pinball machine paradigm of the brain, the thought patterns in the upper brain dominate, unyielding to the solutions to problems coming from the lower brain

• the crowded bumpers of focussed thinking and previous thought patterns can create a rut preventing looking in different places where the solution might be found

• this is the wrong approach but very easy to do, the initial thinking is misleading

  • older patterns might need to unlearned before and while learning new patterns

sinking and interleaving

• getting into solving problems without priming the mind with relevant information is called sinking

• for instance, not reading the text book, attending lectures and viewing online lessons before taking a test or doing work associated

• understanding how to obtian solutions is the part that is missed here

• mastering a new concept involves lerning new chunks AND knowing how to select and apply different chunks

• the best way to learn this is to jump back and forth between situations that require strategies and techniques from different chunks
  • this is called interleaving

• while laying down the foundations use the focussed method to initiate chunks in a linear, sequential fashion

• to strengthen and master a subject, use interleaving along with seperated repetitions

• when mastering a subject, it is important to let the brain know that forming patterns for only one kind of concept, approach and problem-solving is not enough

• it assissts in deeper understanding of a subject

• practise and repetition builds strong neural patterns (chunks), interleaving builds flexibility and creativity

• when chunks in the same subject are interleaved, it builds creativity in that subject

• when different subjects are interleaved, connections between different subjects are generated enabling more creativity

• however, the chunks from different fields have to be solid enough for these patterns to be applicalble in real life

• some dead fucker who was apparently a philosopher allegedly said that paradigm shifts in science are brought about either by young people or people trained in other disciplines
  • since they are not prone to einstllung to the degree that exisitng domain experts are
  • experts essentially are people trapped in the einstellung
• learning does not happen only from teachers and books, it also happens when
  • you lay a bully to rest,
  • you fix a a leaky faucet,
  • you pack a suitcase for a vacation

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chunking summary - chunking chunking

• chunks are pieces of information, neuroscientifically speaking,
  • bound together through use
  • and through shared meaning

• can be viewed as a scintillating network of neurons that compactly sysntehsize key ideas or actions

• they can grow to get bigger

• but they are meant to be a single easy access item that you can fit like a ribbon into the slot on your working memory

• chunks are best built understanding the idea with focussed, undivided attention

practise

• practise helps deepen patterns and gain the context bigger than chunks
• don’t practise the wrong thing, ensure what you’re learning is accurate
  • in some areas this might not have too much impact
  • but in things like learning a new exercise, learnign the wrong form will damage muscles and bones, working against the benefit of the execise, causing harm instead

recall

• simple recall i.e. remembering the content without refering to the learning source after having learnt from it, is the best technique to form chunks

transfer

• an already created and mastered chunk more often than not helps form chunk in other areas, due to shared commonalities

interleaving

• different concepts, approaches and techniques are to be practised in the same session
• chunks by themselves dont create flexibility, interleaving chuncks does
• this flexibility leads to creativity and “originality”

illusions of competence

• it is important to recoginize when you’re fooling yourself into thinking you’re learning

• a lot of activities like repeatedly hammering at learning the same content, trying to automate learning, highlighting content, focussing on only the easy stuff only etc are trickery to fool yourself
• nothing actually gets retained

• recall, and repetietons of recalls spaced with sleep cycles are what helps learning and retention

• mistakes are what helps clear out illusions of competence

einstellung

• this is when an exisitng pattern prevents finding a better solution
• prevents flexibility in accepting new ideas
• use the law of serendipity to counter einstullung
  • luck favors those who try
  • try with grasping smaller chunks
  • build on acquired chunks to build newer ones

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