The Yin and Yang of Learning: The OAAO Theory.

An infant abhors status quo.

Fed up of lying on his back or on his stomach, the child makes feeble attempts first and then one day yanks himself on to his side and then his stomach. From flaying his hands and legs to express joy, the child uses it as a lever to change the status quo, quite disruptively.

He discovers that movement is exhilarating. There is a buzz to it. At some point the training wheels go off the tricycle; the bicycle actually stays upright when pedalled.

Four dynamics or levers connote learning: Observation, Analysis, Application and Outcome (OAAO). It's a loop. It is iterative. It builds intuition. It accelerates the OAAO process as long as momentum is maintained.

Once OAAO is set in motion it is meant to go on until and unless an opposite force exerts pressure – friction, wear out, obsolescence. The reason: lack of maintenance and timely replacement of parts. A metaphor for our own learning intensity or deceleration.

We know we are in regression when OAAO operates in reverse. We are not concerned about Outcome, we don’t care to Apply learning, we stop Analyzing, and at some point, don’t bother to even Observe.

We stop learning when the motivation wears out.

-         No compulsion to learn

-         No clarity on what to learn

-         No ability or impaired ability to learn

-         No interest to learn

Behavioral signs of end of learning: we stop observing what is happening around us or what has happened. Even if we have observed we choose to not analyze it too deeply (rather lean on opinion rather than facts). We stop applying (participate in the act of description, prescription, and value creation), and of course, we are dulled into not seeking any particular outcome.

The Yin and Yang of Learning.

Are you noticing any such signs in yourself? Forewarned is Forearmed.