The Power of Patterns: How to maximize learning using your naturally pattern-seeking and pattern-loving brain!
Table of Contents
Prerequisites
LOVE of music and the discipline to study and practice the right things the right way.
Lesson Goal
To appreciate the power of patterns when is comes to the learning process, so deeply that it elevates your study and practice habits accordingly.
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About Your Pattern-Loving Brain
Did you know that your brain is a natural seeker, recognizer, discriminator, interpreter, relater, connector, and creator of patterns?
Your brain enjoys patterns and dislikes randomness as illustrated in these two illustrative examples…
Pattern Recognition Example #1
- “!nkcsrveeeoo htB” is no fun to read because it’s just an apparent jumble of random symbols with no apparent meaning.
- “Beethoven rocks!” is fun to read because it contains recognizable patterns that mean something.
Pattern Recognition Example #2
A particularly astonishing example of the power of our pattern-loving brains:
Cna yuo raed tihs? i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg aubot the phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae the rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef but the wrod as a wlohe.
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A Memory Challenge
In order to illustrate the amazing power of patterns, let’s try a fun memory challenge…
Step 1 (Please don’t skip ahead!)…
Play the following music (30 seconds long) and memorize the following letter/symbol pairs…
When the music stops, scroll down or jump to Step 2…
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Step 2. Count backwards…
From 42 to 0 by 3s: 42… 39… 36… 33… 30… 27… 24… 21… 18… 15… 12… 9… 6… 3… 0…
After you count down to zero, scroll down or jump to Step 3…
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Step 3. Test Your Memory…
What shapes correspond to each of the following letters?
When you are finished or can’t stand it anymore, scroll down or jump to Step 4…
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Step 4. Surprise!
No matter how hard you try, you will not be able to forget the effortless connection you just made. In fact, it is highly likely that you will “remember” this connection a week, a year, or twenty years from now! Got it? Good!
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Implications for Students and Teachers
- Learning need not be a brute force memory task.
- “Memorized” information is hard to learn and easy to forget.
- Memorization of unconnected information is mentally exhausting (and usually unnecessary).
- Once you see a pattern, you don’t have to try to remember it. It is impossible to forget.
- Learning new patterns is fun & easy if you connect them to patterns you already know.
- The more useful patterns you have stored in your long-term memory, the easier it is to learn new things. Each pattern already stored gives you a foundation on which to build even more complex patterns.
- If you are a teacher, you need to invest your time & energy teaching useful patterns.
- If you are a student, you need to invest your time & energy discovering, studying, and mastering useful patterns.
- A word of warning: BAD patterns also exist. Once a useless, confusing, or destructive pattern gets stored, useless, confusing, or dangerous things start to happen. And so, you must be careful what knowledge, beliefs, and habits you store in memory.
- Today’s ease was enabled by yesterdays efforts. For example, the effort you invested in learning your ABCs and phonics is makes reading these words easy. Likewise, tomorrow’s ease is enabled by today’s efforts!
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learn more… How Your Brain Works
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