Barbara oakley, the author of this book, is also struggling with math. She did badly in math when she was a teenager. She joined the army after graduating from high school. After being assigned to the communications army, she found that she knew nothing about technology and began to retrain her brain. In this process, she gradually fell in love with learning and finally became an engineering professor and neurobiologist. If you also feel that you are not suitable for math and science, then this book may change your mind and become your best helper.
Being too diligent is also a disease.
0 1 brain science research has found that the operation of our brain includes two modes: concentration mode and divergence mode, both of which are very important for learning.
In daily activities, the brain will constantly switch between the two modes. The importance of concentration mode to mathematics and science learning is self-evident. It's like a very penetrating beam from a flashlight, hitting the target directly. At this time, the part of our brain responsible for concentration is highly active, conducting rational and coherent logical reasoning. What we often overlook is that divergent mode is equally important for mathematics learning, because it is related to the macro perspective. If you force yourself to death when you encounter problems, you will only fall into fixed thinking, so it is also a disease to say that you are too diligent.
Then how to treat this disease? The great inventor Edison's "therapy" is to take a nap. It is said that he often takes a nap when he encounters difficult problems, instead of forgetting to eat and sleep. He will fall asleep slowly with a small ball in his hand. Once he falls asleep, the ball will fall and wake him up. At this time, he will quickly seize the fragments in his mind and look for new plans. Besides sleeping, the ways to activate divergent mode include exercise, dancing, doodling, bathing, discussing with friends and so on. The purpose is to connect knowledge from a new angle and get inspiration.
People's memory can be divided into two types, one is working memory and the other is long-term memory.
Short-term memory or working memory has a small capacity and may be erased by metabolism at any time. When you master a science or technology, it will occupy less space in working memory, and the released brain space will make it easier for you to deal with other projects. It is like a blackboard, on which you can scribble, and long-term memory is like a warehouse. There is a reporter named Solomon Selevsky. He was born with unforgettable memories. However, this attractive talent only brought him trouble. Solomon Superman's memory is not perfect. On the contrary, his brain is almost like a bare hard disk, which can only be input mechanically and cannot be retrieved. Every detail is the same to him, which leads him to see only trees, but not forests, and he can't be creative.
To master the knowledge of mathematics and science skillfully, it is necessary to retrieve and integrate scattered pieces of information and create conceptual chunks.
In order to form lexical chunks, it is necessary to look at the overall situation from top to bottom, and perhaps from bottom to top, it is necessary to practice and test repeatedly. Start with concentrated thinking and do something else when you encounter difficulties, and it's your turn to divergent thinking. We can even have a "sixth sense" about things in our familiar fields, which is just a normal phenomenon after we really master this knowledge.
Second, practice hard and skillfully.
There are many skills that can help us improve our memory and understanding. These memorizing methods and skills are like learning tricks.
The first is visualization. The part of the brain that processes visual information is the largest. When we remember, it is appropriate to take the ability of image memory as a transit point. For example, Newton's second law formula, F equals M times A, you can imagine, F in the formula stands for flying, M stands for donkey, as for A, you can choose for yourself. This is a flying mule. Imagine that when it flies in the air, we can hear the rustling sound. The more exaggerated and counterintuitive the scenes we imagine, the deeper our memories will be.
When Einstein was thinking about the theory of relativity, he imagined himself as a photon, and then imagined what the second photon thought of him. What does the second photon feel? Mcclintock, a biologist who discovered the jumping gene, would try to imagine himself running into a microscope and making friends with chromosomes. Visualize in your own brain, make irrelevant information into stories, and then repeat them in your brain like a movie, which can make these information unforgettable at first sight.
The second is initiative. Memory memory, in addition to memory, is more important to recall, that is, active memory. When reviewing, don't simply repeat reading, but remember what you have learned. This process will not only deepen memory, but also deepen understanding. Repetition is also skillful It is better to study for a long time at a time than to review it repeatedly at regular intervals. In addition, learning some memory skills, such as memory palace method, will also be very helpful.
The third is simplicity. In order to explain complex concepts simply, physicist Feynman breaks down complex materials into key elements, and then tries to imagine that he is explaining these contents to a child who doesn't know these knowledge at all. At this time, we will find that we must have a very deep understanding before we can explain it clearly to others. In addition, using vivid metaphors or analogies, such as comparing current to water flow, can express abstract scientific concepts concisely and clearly.
You are not defeated by mathematics, but by procrastination.
There are many distractions in the information age. We may inadvertently open web pages and open social software shopping software, which will consume a lot of time if we are not careful. In order to overcome procrastination, we should first take it as a result and analyze the reasons for this phenomenon. Instead of using "I have procrastination" as an excuse to give up math.
We often procrastinate because we are afraid. People with math phobia often really start learning, but the pain disappears. Procrastination is a very influential bad habit. Just like drug addiction, it won't directly kill people in a short time, but it will damage our attention and energy bit by bit in places we can't see, just like poison.
We are all habitual animals. The best way to correct bad habits is to replace them with good ones. Carry a pen and paper with you and record your behavior. Analyze what attracts you and causes procrastination. For example, is it because I want to check the information online, but I accidentally went to another webpage? Stay away from the source of procrastination, make a to-do list and adopt pomodoro technique, which can help us to break the habit of procrastination.
We should pay more attention to the learning process itself rather than the result. Because paying too much attention to the results will lead to our disgust. So we should tell ourselves, "Start practicing for 25 minutes" instead of "Be sure to finish five exercises." If you want a result too much, you will have more haste, less speed. When you finish a small task, you can give yourself some appropriate small rewards, such as drinking a cup of coffee and watching a movie, which can promote positive feedback and make yourself fall in love with learning.
Remodeling the brain and stimulating potential
This book uses many examples of successful people, some of whom were Nobel Prize winners on youth issues. Veterans with brain injuries; There are also too many college students who failed the course and were expelled. They are not so-called recognized geniuses, but in the end they all overcame difficulties and made great achievements.
Therefore, everything depends on people's efforts, and the reorganization of the brain is also controlled by ourselves. The key is to have good methods and perseverance. There are many aspects of human intelligence, and the reason why our skills in one aspect are poor may be because we lack enlightenment to this skill in our childhood experience. For example, spatial imagination, some people will feel that they are born road blind. However, even without training as a child, adults can develop strong spatial skills as long as they practice patiently.
Mr. Liang Shuming once said: "Any one's academic achievement is due to self-study. School education just gives students a start and makes it easier for them to learn by themselves. " For many students who need to study science, this book is definitely a brief encounter. We may not be geniuses, but the potential of our brains is unlimited. Close the book and think about what we can learn from it.