Tips and Pits
Tip #1
Make use of both the intense focused and relaxed diffuse modes. If you are getting frustrated, it's time to switch to another topic.
What is your attentional octopus or school bag better known as?
working memory
My phone vibrates- I stop working. Solution:
Leave phone in another room or use an app like Forest, a Pomodoro app which keeps you studying for 25 minutes.
Fill in the blanks: The _______________ that neurons send to other neurons form you ________________ .
signals / thoughts
What can you do to produce a chemical called BDNF?
exercise
Tip #4
Space out your learning. This is called the spaced interval technique. Practice over at least several days. This gives time for your new synapses to form.
What's in your "locker?"
Long term memory with brain-links, either short or long.
What are some examples of zombie mode habits, things you do automatically because we've done them so many times before?
Throwing your shoes down as you come in from school, falling into a favorite chair in front of the TV, or reaching for your phone as soon as it vibrates.
Some people like to think of a set of brain-links as a metaphor. What is it?
Paths that a mouse runs along in a forest (the mouse is like the bouncing "thought-ball" in the pinball machine metaphor).
List the groups of food we should be eating and what they do for us.
Onion family (including garlic and leeks) contains chemicals that help keep away all sorts of diseases, from diabetes to cancer. Cabbage family (cauliflower, broccoli, radishes, and Brussels sprouts). Fruit (oranges, pears, blueberries, cherries and raspberries). Dark chocolate (same chemicals as fruit). Nuts.
Tip #8
Use the Pomodoro Technique to build your ability to focus and relax. Just turn off all distractions, set the timer to 25 minutes, focus, and then reward yourself.
How long can your attentional octopus hold information for before it begins to slip away unless you concentrate or repeat it to hold it in mind?
10-15 seconds.
My insular cortex just fired up, giving me an experience of pain, or something like a stomachache. Why am I feeling this way?
Because somebody told you to clean, or practice an instrument, start your homework, or maybe an assignment and you start thinking about it. Just get started and that feeling will go away in 20 minutes or so.
What happens to the mouse and its path through the forest as you practice a new idea more?
The more times the mouse runs along the pathway (when you practice a new idea) the clearer the path becomes. The wider the path is, the easier it is to see and follow it. So, the more you practice how to do something, the easier it is to remember how to do it next time.
What is BDNF. What does it do for us?
BDNF: Brain-derived neurotropic factor or "Brains Definitely Need Food!" BDNF makes your new neurons strong and healthy. It protects them from injury and makes them more likely to connect to other neurons. It also acts like a food (like fertilizer) for synapses and dendritic spines making them grow larger.
Pitfall #5
Cramming. Last-minute learning doesn't build solid brain-links.
Why does the memory palace technique (perfected by Cicero) work so well?
The picture portion of your long-term memory, called the visuospatial memory, is much better at remembering places and directions than it is at remembering random facts.
In the 1980s Francesco Cirillo came up with a way to help procrastinators. What is it called and what are the four steps of the technique in order.
It's called the Pomodoro Technique. 1. Shut off all distractions. 2. Set the timer for 25 minutes. 3. Get going, and focus. 4. After 25 minutes, reward yourself.
First, the brain-links are weak. There are only a few neurons linked together. Each neuron may have only a small dendritic spine and a small synapse. The spark between the neuron isn't very big. As you practice a new idea, more neurons join in. The synaptic link between the neurons get stronger. This means the sparks get bigger.
What happens to information you've learned during sleep in terms of neurons and the hippocampus?
Pitfall #8
Not clearing up points of confusion. Are there just a few points you don't get? Chances are, these are precisely the points that will be about on the text. Be sure to get help from your teacher or your friends.
Nelson Dellis' Five Tips for Remembering Things:
(in order, of course)
1. Focus- pay attention! 2. Practice. 3. Picture things. 4. Store it. (Find an anchor) 5. Recall. Recall. Recall.
What happens when you get used to procrastinating?
It will make learning harder, because you will have less time when you do buckle down to learn. You'll get stressed, miss deadlines, and not learn things properly. You can get really behind. And this will make you a less effective student.
What are the 4 most common Excuses in Learning?
1. I don't have time. 2. I don't have a good imagination. 3. What I'm learning is useless. 4. My teachers are really boring.
Exercise does something else magical. It enables your brain to produce other chemicals. Name the two chemicals (neurotransmitters) mentioned in the book and what they do.
Serotonin and dopamine. These chemicals help you come up with new ideas. They allow you to see how old ideas can link up to form new ones. Then you can think in new ways.