BEST Robotics - Meta Skills – Learning to Learn Part I

"An ounce of experience is better than a ton of theory simply because it is only in experience that any theory has vital and verifiable significance." (John Dewey)

Prologue

Have you ever wondered what is going on in the human brain when people are experiencing learning?

One way to is to examine their active output. For example, if they scribble notes in real-time, or start expressing ideas, throwing out questions, or even answering questions. ?

Would it surprise you to know that when people learn they do not write down or repeat precisely what they hear or read. Instead, they express their personal interpretation!

Why do we do this?

This is why the study of how humans learn is so fascinating. Learning is a continuum, as is the act of, well, learning how to learn. It is experiential. Sometimes the experience is internal as is the feeling of discovery and awe. Other times it is external, the physical activities we perform or the behaviors and physical interactions we observe in our world. Learning and learning to learn can be facilitated, even accelerated, by a natural ecosystem of feedback. We observe we hear, we feel, and we study others’ thoughts and ideas, and all the while our brain is learning and learning to learn. These stimuli generate constant interactive brain messaging and association, improving our understanding and knowledge. ?

Let's make the person in the learning experience real. We’ll call her Karen. She is our Generative-AI, a university medical student learning in an auditorium. We can observe her as she’s writing her notes in a class about physiology. Let’s get closer. ?The professor is teaching; other students are making observations and asking questions, as well as our subject. ?We watch as she taps notes on her iPad. Is this what we think of when we say learning? Why is this learning? And is there more to this simple behavior than meets the eye?

The brain absorbs information and analyzes it. Karen uses parts of her brain to take in, evaluate, consider, and store the absorbed data. But that’s not all. The information is forever altered as her mind associates the data with tens of thousands of memories, inputs, theories, calculations, and experiences related to the subject matter. Her brain modifies the information, spinning it around, bouncing it around, and adding or removing elements until a new awareness is created. This is a continuous feedback loop. Add in what her fellow students are saying or not saying, and the way they’re saying it. Are they agitated? Frustrated? Excited? Do they convey emotion or are they detached? ?Karen’s notes and memory of the teaching event are forever colored by these and many other distractions, influences, and conditions. It’s all jumbled together in her mind and it’s her brain’s job to structure it and record it for later retrieval and use. What’s absorbed and created is far different than the professor’s version of the lecture.

The more we reflect on the information we absorb, its sources, context, and validity, the more our minds change, alter, edit, and build on that learning experience. Therefore, the more we learn, the better we learn, and the sum total of this dynamic and interactive learning process is far greater than inputs that feed into that experience. ?

Why are we starting from the very basics? And maybe this isn’t the basics but the fundamentals of how our thinking system (brain) works to acquire learning.

Because we’re now in an era of the experiential. ?Almost everything around us has been designed, developed, pitched, and bought on the basis of its intrinsic experiential value. In other words, experiential learning isn’t a fad or an on-again, off again, phenomenon. It is ongoing, continuous, never-ending, and never final. It comes in thousands of forms, augmented, generative, virtual, tactile, just to name a few contributing channels. Understanding how we acquire information and being active in organizing it in our learning journey isn’t an option; it is critical to maximizing the wonderful instrument we’ve been given, the human mind.

We must understand the fundamentals involved and create a road map of learning so we can be empowered with more substantial knowledge.

Partly because we work side by side with the innovation, we gave birth to, which acquires information and knowledge just like others we give birth to – like children. It’s time to return to our theme, ?Learning to Learn.

When watching ?little kids, you see how they are ?intuitive and inspirational. You see clearly how all inputs influence young minds. Yet, as adults, if we do not aspire to see the world as clearly and with the same level of awe and wonder, we may end up ?letting the ?essential power of learning slip away through disuse. These insights and creative impulses do not come to us through a USB-C cable. We are all better than that. We are all biologically designed to learn.

In the next few chapters, all dedicated to learning to learn, our third BEST Robotics Meta Skill, ?Jens Hartmann, Marty Strong, and I, will dedicate ourselves to sharing and surprising you with examples, experiences, and insights that reinforce our commentary about the skill of learning.

Open up and join the ride.

Next on Meta Skills – Learning to Learn

"The understanding can intuit nothing; the senses can think nothing. Only through their union can knowledge arise." (Immanuel Kant)

Embarking the field of Brain Science on our Learning to Learn

Jens, we witness through BEST Robotics program, a process that we typically have no access to. Participants gain access to and retain information in fields they would never own. What is going on?

Jens: (Dr. Jens Hartmann – Brain Scientist) Why don’t we start with a review of the Hardware, “software,” the process involved in learning, and our essential active roles during and after? Learning and cognition are intricate processes involving multiple brain regions that work closely together to absorb, analyze, and retain information. Central to learning is the hippocampus, a critical area for forming and retrieving memories. It plays a crucial role in transforming short-term memories into long-term ones, allowing for knowledge retention over time. The hippocampus interacts closely with the entorhinal cortex, which acts as a hub for memory and navigation, helping to route sensory information to the hippocampus.

Michael: Jens, if I read you correctly, this isn’t just about “taking information in”? But how do we take it in? Because of how we later want or may want to “use it”? Or “lose it”?!

Jens (continues): Adjacent to the hippocampus, the prefrontal cortex is vital for higher-order cognitive functions. This area is responsible for executive functions such as planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. During learning, the prefrontal cortex helps organize and integrate new information, facilitating understanding and application in various contexts.?Our brain does mental accounting when making decisions -meaning that we put a weight behind every context which leads to either a positive or negative association.

Michael: Hmm – so I need to get the cortex engaged. Otherwise, the information I am learning is just for “fun.” Is there more in the Hardware that I must engage in how we learn, Jens?

Jens (continues): Yes, Michael. The amygdala, another key player, adds an emotional dimension to learning. It processes emotions, helping to prioritize and encode information that has emotional significance, which can enhance memory retention and recall.

The cerebellum, traditionally associated with motor control, also contributes to learning by aiding in the coordination of cognitive tasks and fine-tuning the brain's responses to new information.

Additionally, the parietal lobes integrate sensory information, aiding spatial awareness and navigation, which are crucial for tasks that require precise coordination and understanding of spatial relationships.

Memory formation and retrieval also involve the temporal lobes, which house the hippocampus and are essential for processing auditory information and language. The basal ganglia are involved in procedural memory, which is responsible for skills and habits.

Recent theories in memory research suggest that memory consolidation is not a singular event but a continuous process involving multiple systems and networks in the brain. One such theory is the "multiple trace theory," which posits that every time a memory is recalled, it is re-encoded, creating new memory traces that strengthen the original memory. This ongoing process involves the interaction of the hippocampus with the neocortex, facilitating the gradual integration of memories into a more distributed cortical network.

Another emerging concept is "synaptic tagging and capture," which proposes that the strength and longevity of memories depend on the molecular changes at the synaptic level. When a memory is formed, specific synapses are "tagged," and subsequent neural activity can reinforce these tags, making the memory more robust and easier to recall.

The default mode network (DMN), a crucial brain network, also plays a significant role in learning and memory. The DMN is active during rest and mind-wandering and is involved in self-referential thinking, daydreaming, and the consolidation of information. It includes the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and lateral parietal cortex. The DMN supports the integration of new information with existing knowledge, enabling the synthesis of experiences and the generation of insights. This network's involvement highlights the importance of downtime and reflection in the learning process.

Philosophical perspectives also enrich our understanding of cognition. Martin Heidegger emphasized the importance of "being in the world" (Dasein), suggesting that cognition is not merely a process of the mind, but an embodied experience shaped by our interactions with the world. Heidegger argued that our understanding and learning are deeply rooted in our practical engagements and existential contexts.

Jens, I want to wrap up the first part of this review of Learning to Learn with a quote from Martin Heidegger. Using him and where you brought us to truly help our readers realize how essential to ensure that learning does not just “Happen.” But is, as Heidegger points out.

The floor is his:

"Dasein is a being that does not simply occur among other beings. Rather it is ontically (concrete –Michael) distinguished by the fact that, in its very Being, that Being is an issue for it." (Martin Heidegger)

We will get back together with Jens and Marty as we dive deeper into Learning to Learn. It is essential that without understanding the mechanism of this crucial meta-skill, young adults cannot embark on learning complex tasks and cannot solve the challenging problems we face in the 21st century. ?

Until then, thank you, Jens, and Marty.

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