4 underlying logics of deep learning
We will use fragmented time to study, such as on the way to work or school, between meals, and even when taking a shower, we can also use mobile phone voice to listen to lectures. Although I have seen a lot of various learning methods, when I encounter problems at work, I realize that there are not many that I can think of and use.
The methods and techniques of learning are endless and varied, but no matter how they change, they must be based on the underlying learning logic.
This article is about learning logic, hoping to help you improve your learning efficiency. As long as you recognize the four underlying logics of learning below, I believe you will have a deeper insight into learning and really understand learning.
Memory: Chunking and Associations
Fragmented learning, such as listening to Himalayas on the way to school, brushing micro-classes during class intervals, and listening to English on the way back from school, seems to make full use of time and learn a lot of content, but in fact it is just absorbing unrelated fragments of knowledge individually. Fragmented knowledge does not even enter short-term memory.
Because our brain is a cognitive “stinger”, its short-term memory ability is extremely limited, and what it is worst at is learning scattered content.
In 1871, British economist and logician William Jervos conducted an experiment, commonly known as the “7±2” effect, which showed that when the human brain is working hard to remember, the accurate number of short-term memories is only between 5 and 2. fluctuate between 9.
The latest research results show that the average capacity of short-term memory is a maximum of 4 “things”.
Is there any way to break through the limitation of short-term memory capacity? In fact, the best way is to build your own knowledge system.
The working principle of the knowledge system lies in two points:
1. Chunking of short-term memory;
2. Association of long-term memory.
Chunking of short-term memory
Chunking is to classify things, so that the content that the brain needs in short-term memory is greatly reduced and it is easier to remember.
For example, if I ask you to remember the following words at once: apple, cabbage, pork, cantaloupe, chicken, baby food, watermelon, is it difficult to remember?
But if they are grouped into:
Fruits: apples, cantaloupe, watermelon;
vegetables: cabbage, baby vegetables;
meat: pork, chicken.
Do you remember right away?
Just like the job knowledge system we built, a person’s knowledge can be divided into four modules: quality, ability, skill, and knowledge, and each module is subdivided below. For example, the professional skills of an operation position can be subdivided into promotion, negotiation, copywriting, sales skills, etc. If the sales skills are further subdivided, they can be subdivided into: mining demand – matching demand – handling objections – promoting action – forcing one.
With the help of the knowledge system, you can memorize knowledge far beyond the short-term capacity of your brain.
The association of long-term memory
In 2000, Eric Kandel, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, discovered the storage rules of explicit memory and implicit memory in the brain.
Among them, the various knowledge points we learn (such as people, things, things, places, facts and events) are called explicit memory. It is stored short-term in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, converted into long-term memory in the hippocampus, and finally stored in the same area of the cortex that is involved in various senses.
The various actions and habits remembered by the body are implicit memories (such as your habit of driving), which are stored in the cerebellum, striatum and amygdala after repeated repetitions.
Implicit memory does not need to be recalled. It will automatically drive your body to respond when triggered by certain conditions. For example, if you see a red light while driving, you will naturally step on the brakes to slow down. Even if your mind is distracted sometimes, your brain will automatically react to the condition.
And what you record in the knowledge system are all explicit memories, which need to be recalled to be recalled. The more clues that can arouse recall, the higher the probability that these explicit memories can be recalled.
Therefore, when you put newly learned knowledge points into your knowledge system, connect as much as possible with your existing knowledge, so that the new knowledge is more likely to be recalled and used.
For example, the “7±2” effect mentioned above, when you put this new knowledge point into your knowledge system, it can be associated with the following knowledge.
If it is related to your oral expression, when you talk to others, it is best to say 3 points, so that it can be classified in advance and the number is small, and it is easier for others to understand and remember; if it is related to your thinking skills, you are using your thinking
skills When sorting out ideas on the map, combine similar items together to ensure that each layer does not exceed 7 elements, preferably no more than 5.
Thinking: memory is the trace of thinking
When studying, some people like to write down the important points in the notebook, and read them while writing down, for fear that a word may be wrong and deviate from the original meaning. After taking notes, every time I review the study, I feel a sense of accomplishment. The notes are written smoothly, and I feel that I understand everything.
But when it is necessary to use it at work, you either stumble, or you can’t remember it. Reciting and memorizing the author’s original text actually stays in the shallow learning of reading input, without thinking about the brain, so I can’t remember the knowledge.
Our lives are filled with all kinds of information, and the limited memory capacity of the brain determines that it cannot store and receive every information.
So how does it decide what to remember and what to forget?
The brain thinks like this: if you seldom think about a piece of information, you probably don’t need to think about it again, so you can forget it; It, so it should be remembered.
Memory, therefore, is a residue of thinking. If you want to remember the learning, you must find a way to make the “lazy guy” of the brain move and think.
But “being lazy” is a natural mechanism of our brain, so how can we make this lazy guy move? There’s a good way to do this: ask a list.
By asking explicit questions from the list of questions, your brain will start thinking. Regarding the use of the question list, here are two examples:
Example 1: Three questions about conceptual knowledge
In the book “Learning Ability: An Efficient Method to Subvert Workplace Learning”, a list of questions for learning conceptual knowledge is suggested:
Question 1: When did this knowledge come about? Why did it happen at this point in time? Will there be newer theories after this point in time?
Question 2: How can this knowledge be related to other knowledge or experiences?
Question 3: In which three scenarios can this knowledge be used? In which 3 scenarios is it not applicable?
When you learn any new concept, just remember to ask yourself the above 3 questions, your brain will not be lazy, and your understanding of the concept you have learned will be deeper.
Example 2: Use the rule of thirds to take reading notes The book
”Learning Ability: An Efficient Method to Subvert Workplace Learning” also introduces a method of taking notes with the rule of thirds, which is an in-depth application of the three questions about conceptual knowledge. It is not just thinking about three questions about a single concept, but thinking about the content of the entire book and recording it down.
As shown in Figure 1, the note page is divided into three areas – the reading area, the understanding area and the experience area.
①The reading area is the refinement of the original text;
②The understanding area is the thinking output after three questions about conceptual knowledge;
③The essence of the experience area and the understanding area are the same, but there will be multiple knowledge points on a note page, and the understanding area It is for one or more knowledge points, while the experience area is for all knowledge points on the entire page.
Through this way of taking notes, your brain will not only actively think, but also connect knowledge and make it more likely to use it.
Application: Knowledge that cannot be used is worthless
If the learning content cannot be used in time, there will be two disadvantages:
1. You will forget. There will be various information flooding into the brain
at any time . The limited digestion ability of the brain determines that it cannot receive all of them, so there must be Selective memory.
So, how does the brain judge whether a piece of information should be remembered? The principle of the brain is: put more emphasis on output than input. It thinks like this: “This information is used a lot, which means it is very important, and I must keep it firmly in my mind.”
On the contrary, if knowledge is not applied in time, it will be easily forgotten.
2. Superficial If
the learning content is not applied, you will lack feedback and cannot really form an understanding of the content learned.
When looking at the knowledge shared by others, it is easy for us to have an illusion: we mistake understanding for learning. But in fact, when everyone shares knowledge, they will attach their own story experiences, analogies and metaphors to help you understand.
So when you are reading, there is no threshold for understanding. It is easy to think that you understand it, but in fact you may not understand it. As long as there is a slight change in knowledge, you will be confused.
For example, the binary linear equation we learned in middle school, the normal digital deduction “x+y=35, 4x+2y=94”, everyone can solve it. But if it is put on clothes and disguised as chickens and rabbits in the same cage, many people will not be able to solve the question “There are chickens and rabbits in the same cage today. There are 35 heads on the top and 94 feet on the bottom. Ask the chickens and rabbits?”
Moreover, limited by personal knowledge background and experience, the knowledge shared by everyone will have its limitations. If you don’t practice and apply it yourself, you will not know: whether the knowledge that others think is useful is still valid for you. Be applicable? The useful experience at that time has been changed to the present, because the time is different and the environment has changed, has it become invalid?
If you don’t apply and receive feedback and verification, you will be complacent when you think you have learned it. When the real problem test comes, you will be in trouble.
Repetition: Do multiple repetitions naturally
U disk, mobile phone Micro SD card, TF card of digital camera, etc. These memory cards all have a common feature, that is, the content will not disappear after copying unless you actively delete it.
But the memory method of the brain is very different from that of a memory card. It is like writing on paper with water. Over time, the writing will quickly dry out and disappear.
Brain nerve research experiments have shown that within 1 hour after the completion of learning, the amount of memory will decline rapidly. To form a long-term memory, it is necessary for neurons to grow new synapses and strengthen the synaptic strength for a long time.
This means that there must be a sufficient number of repetitions to produce a large and lasting change in synaptic strength to form a long-term memory.
So, here comes the question: How many people can have the perseverance to persist for a sufficient number of repetitions? Isn’t it because many people can’t persevere, so they learn English round after round, and finally stay where they are.
This is why we need utilitarian learning. There are two cores of utilitarian learning:
1. Provide learning motivation. If you learn
after work , you may not be motivated, feel tired, and don’t want to learn; What’s the matter.
But if it is because you need to use it at work, if you go to learn it at this time, the possibility of persevering will become stronger, and this learning motivation will be there.
2. An environment with repeated application The same is true for learning
about writing skills.
If your job position does not require much writing, occasionally writing 1 or 2 product promotion copywriting will feel very painful. Basically, you have to suffer for several days before you can barely squeeze out 1 article. Even if you learn some effective writing methods and skills, you use them less in your daily work. After a long time, the writing methods you have learned are easy to forget.
And if the job needs, the priority of writing tasks continues to rise, and after it becomes a core task, because of the need to write frequently, naturally the more you write, the more you learn, and the more you learn, the deeper you learn.
Finally, you have built a mature process system in writing, and you can write an article of 3,000 to 4,000 words in a short period of time.
This is the power of utilitarian learning. With learning motivation and an environment of repeated application, you will naturally be able to repeat many times in learning and learn more and more deeply.
Summarize
After recognizing the four underlying logics of learning, we can no longer just copy learning skills, but know why learning skills are effective and how to use them better.
Any effective learning method is nothing more than helpful in the four aspects of memory, thinking, application, and repetition.
In general, how to make better use of the four underlying learning logics? There are 3 effective methods:
1. Building a knowledge system: chunking and associating knowledge, breaking through the limitation of short-term memory capacity, and increasing recall cues for long-term memory.
2. Use the question list: avoid the brain from “lazy” and stimulate thinking.
3. Utilitarian learning: provide learning motivation and application environment, so that learning can be repeated naturally.
As long as you deliberately use the underlying logic and methods of learning above when you are studying, I believe that your learning efficiency can also be improved.
