Welcome
back
to
Learning
How
to
Learn.
Today
we're
going
to
talk
about
how
to
become
a
better
learner.
As
we
learn
more
about
the
brain
we
can
become
better
learners,
and
here
are
two
tips
for
how
to
learn
better.
Tip
number
one
–
the
best
gift
that
you
can
give
your
brain
is
Physical
Exercise.
We
once
thought
that
all
of
the
neurons
in
your
brain
were
already
present
at
birth,
but
we
now
know
that
in
a
few
places,
new
neurons
are
born
every
day.
One
of
these
places
is
in
your
Hippocampus,
a
brain
area
that
is
very
important
for
learning
new
things
that
we
already
discussed
earlier
in
the
course.
In
this
experiment,
a
rat
is
shown,
learning
how
to
distinguish
a
picture
of
a
flower
from
a
picture
of
an
airplane.
In
the
background
is
a
photo
of
neurons
in
the
hippocampus,
with
the
old
neurons
shown
in
blue
and
newly
generated
neurons
in
red.
As
the
rat
learns
the
task,
these
new
neurons
are
recruited
to
help
perform
better
pattern
separation
between
the
two
pictures.
These
new
neurons
help
you
learn
new
things
but
they
will
die
if
you
don't
use
them.
New
experiences
will
rescue
them.
Exercise,
interestingly,
also
helps
new
neurons
survive.
Exercise
is
by
far,
more
effective
than
any
drug
on
the
market
today
to
help
you
learn
better.
It
benefits
all
of
your
vital
organisms,
not
just
your
brain.
It
is
unfortunate
that
schools
are
dropping
gym
and
recess
to
make
room
for
more
instruction.
Gym
and
recess
are
by
far
the
most
important
parts
of
the
curriculum.
Here's
another
tip
–
and
this
has
to
do
with
practice
making
perfect,
but
only
when
your
brain
is
prepared.
There
are
certain
critical
periods
in
the
development
of
your
brain.
When
sudden
improvements
occur
in
specific
abilities,
expect
them
to
happen
and
prepare
your
brain
for
them.
The
critical
period
for
first
language
acquisition
extends
up
to
puberty.
One
of
the
best
studied
critical
periods
in
the
brain
is
when
binocular
depth
perception
or
stereopsis
matures
during
the
first
two
years
of
life.
Stereopsis
is
the
magic
behind
Magic
Eye
pictures
like
the
one
shown
here.
If
you
stare
at
this
image
and
slightly
cross
your
eyes,
you
will
see
staircases
pop
out
of
the
page.
There
is
a
slight
shift
between
the
images
in
the
two
eyes
and
your
brain
interprets
this
slight
shift
as
difference
in
depth.
Not
everyone,
however,
can
see
this.
Over
5%
of
the
population
is
stereo
blind.
If
the
two
eyes
are
not
properly
aligned
during
the
first
two
years
of
development,
the
neurons
in
your
visual
cortex
will
fail
to
properly
strengthen
the
inputs
from
the
two
eyes
and
depth
perception
is
permanently
impaired.
Well,
that's
the
dogma.
Sue
Barry,
a
friend
of
mine
from
graduate
school
at
Princeton,
was
able
to
recover
stereo
vision
through
eye
exercises,
and
wrote
a
book
about
it,
entitled
Fixing
My
Gaze,
a
Scientist's
Journey
Into
Seeing
in
Three
Dimensions.
Practice
can
repair,
as
well
as
train
the
brain.
But
this
takes
much
longer,
past
the
critical
period.
This
brings
us
to
zombies.
Zombies
can't
learn.
It
is
also
clear
from
their
behavior
that
they
have
brain
damage.
Especially
in
the
front
of
their
cortex,
which
is
the
part
that
makes
plans,
as
well
as
in
their
language
areas.
Learning,
planning,
language,
these
are
the
skills
that
make
us
human.
The
prefrontal
cortex
is
also
involved
in
complex
analysis
in
social
behaviors,
as
well
as
decision
making
and
planning.
It
is
the
last
part
of
the
cortex
to
mature,
so
until
this
happens,
there
may
be
a
little
bit
of
zombie
in
you.
Another
patient,
EVR,
suffered
a
stroke
in
the
social
parts
of
his
prefrontal
cortex.
EVR
had
a
high
IQ
and
seemed
normal,
but
he
was
ruined
by
making
bad
financial
decisions
and
bad
social
interactions.
He
lost
both
his
home
and
his
family.
Good
judgement
takes
a
long
time,
and
a
lot
of
experience
to
acquire.
Learning
is
too
important
to
be
left
behind
in
the
classroom.
Learning
to
learn
is
a
skill
you
can
master,
and
you
can
use
it
to
improve
every
part
of
your
life.
You'll
be
learning
even
more
learning
tips
this
week,
and
can
follow
up
on
them
at
http://www.brainfacts.org/.
I'm
Terry
Sejnowski,
happy
learning
to
you
until
we
meet
again.