Benedict Carey – How We Learn (Audiobook)

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Fast and Slow is a practical, playful, and fascinating guide to what we really know about learning and memory today, and how we can apply it to our own lives.

It is ingrained into our heads from an early age that restlessness, distraction, and ignorantness are the enemies of success. If we want to ace that test, memorize that presentation, or nail that piano recital, we must confine ourselves to designated study areas, turn off the music, and maintain a strict ritual.

Is it possible that almost everything we were told about learning is wrong? What if there was a way to achieve more with less effort?

Benedict Carey combed through decades of education research and landmark studies to uncover the truth about how our brains absorb and retain information. He discovered that, from the moment we are born, we are all learning quickly, efficiently, and automatically; but in our zeal to systematize the process we have ignored valuable, naturally enjoyable learning tools like forgetting, sleeping, and daydreaming. Is a quiet room the best place to study? Can changing your routine improve your recall? There are times when distraction is beneficial. Is repetition necessary? A wealth of strategies that make learning more a part of our everyday lives can be found in Carey’s search for answers to these questions.

Carey shows how we can flex the neural muscles that make deep learning possible by road testing many of the counterintuitive techniques in the book. He explains why teachers should give final exams on the first day of class, why it is better to stay up late preparing for a presentation than to rise early for one last cram session, and why it is wise to interleave subjects and concepts when learning any new skill. The research defies what we have been told, about how best to learn.

The brain isn’t like a muscle in a straightforward sense. It is sensitive to mood, to timing, to circadian rhythms, as well as to location and environment. To put it mildly, it doesn’t take orders well. If the brain is a learning machine, then it is eccentric. Benedict Carey shows us how to exploit its quirks.

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