How We Learn

By: Benedict Carey

Narrated by: Jeff Harding

Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's Summary

In the tradition of The Power of Habit and Thinking, Fast and Slow comes a practical, playful, and endlessly fascinating guide to what we really know about learning and memory today - and how we can apply it to our own lives.

From an early age, it is drilled into our heads: Restlessness, distraction, and ignorance are the enemies of success. We’re told that learning is all self-discipline, that we must confine ourselves to designated study areas, turn off the music, and maintain a strict ritual if we want to ace that test, memorize that presentation, or nail that piano recital.

But what if almost everything we were told about learning is wrong? And what if there was a way to achieve more with less effort?

In How We Learn, award-winning science reporter Benedict Carey sifts through decades of education research and landmark studies to uncover the truth about how our brains absorb and retain information. What he discovers is 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 dedicated desk in a quiet room really the best way to study? Can altering your routine improve your recall? Are there times when distraction is good? Is repetition necessary? Carey’s search for answers to these questions yields a wealth of strategies that make learning more a part of our everyday lives - and less of a chore.

By road testing many of the counterintuitive techniques described in this book, Carey shows how we can flex the neural muscles that make deep learning possible. Along the way he reveals why teachers should give final exams on the first day of class, why it’s wise to interleave subjects and concepts when learning any new skill, and when it’s smarter to stay up late prepping for that presentation than to rise early for one last cram session. And if this requires some suspension of disbelief, that’s because the research defies what we’ve been told, throughout our lives, about how best to learn.

The brain is not like a muscle, at least not in any straightforward sense. It is something else altogether, sensitive to mood, to timing, to circadian rhythms, as well as to location and environment. It doesn’t take orders well, to put it mildly. If the brain is a learning machine, then it is an eccentric one. In How We Learn, Benedict Carey shows us how to exploit its quirks to our advantage.

©2014 Benedict Carey (P)2014 Audible Studios

A practical primer on the latest in learning

I use the lessons I learned here with my children, my own learning and with my clients in my training business because they work. Good book, snappy writing style so the content is never dry. If you've got children facing exams the sooner they learn these tactics the better. Half the work for 35% higher performance on the hardest questions is a good result in anyone's book

Very informative

Great book that challenges the assumptions we have about how we learn. I have lots of new strategies!

Some great content but too much detail

I am glad that I listened but it was hard work! Firstly, there is too much detail of the various studies and experiments for this form of presentation. In writing, one could skim the material and pick out key points but not with an Audible book.
Secondly, it might just be me and the fact that I am English, but the sound of a strong American monotone accent with so many similar studies, reviews and details was just plain boring. I persevered, as there were some hidden gems but I always thought that it was the author's task to sift the wheat from the chaff! Not so here.
Thirdly, everything was presented as being on a common level of importance when what I felt I wanted were key ideas to help me learn. OK, I also wanted to learn something about the background, but this was too much. This is more like a history of how we learn.
My advice? Skip to the appendix! Whilst you will miss the 'why' at least you will learn the 'how'! And if you want the detail, he refers to the appropriate chapters to find it.

Excellent book. Wish I had read it before studying

This book should be essential reading for every person before they begin a period of study. It is also a book that would be valuable for trainers and teachers alike.
I now know why working hard for long hours did not pay off!
I love this book. It will make a big difference to how I learn in the future.

I just wanted to do better at learning French...

I hoped for an insight into how to learn a language better. I got that and more. This is a proper grown up practical review of 'how we learn'.
It has immediately changed how I handle my self education across the board but it has improved how I educate people in my business and how I advise others on how they learn.
The best part is that it is super clear that all that work that I am prepared to put in is no more than I really need to in order to see the results I've been struggling for.

You'd have to be daring to attempt the techniques

We all have had times during our college/university where in preparation for exams we would stay up all night revising the night before an exam cramming our brains full of information. Whilst this tried and tested technique works in the short term, we'll find that this way of learning doesn't lend itself to retaining the information long term.

How we learn takes a look at the key learning techniques that can be employed to learn a topic and retain the information in long term memory even after say an exam. However, be prepared to be challenged, some techniques and concepts actually encourage distractions as a means to help learn a topic!

I must admit I'd have to be brave to attempt some of the techniques, but it appears the techniques are backed by science and thorough research. I'll leave you to decide whether you would employ any of the techniques to do any active learning.

The brain is simply amazing, it appears to reinforce memories sub-consciencley, during sleep and when distracted or doing other tasks. Ignorance prior to learning also seems to reinforce learning. Sounds bonkers, I know.

Definitely recommend this work

A very worthwhile listen

I would highly recommend that anyone interested in learning listen to this book. There are lots of non obvious aspects to how learning works.

Fantastic practical science

Really enjoyed this book, it's read by an entertaining and engaging speaker and the content is both interesting and practical for real life. In fact I now plan to write down the major points of the book and try to use them next time I am learning something new. Recommended.

Intriguing

I was looking for something to help with my studies. Its more of a insight to the functions and nuances of how our minds pick up outside stimulus and commits it to memory in a whole colour of sensory and emotional storage! Intriguing.

Not great at all

It didn't share how we learn in a relevant manner - too long winded to make a simple point.

Tragic - makes me think I could write my own book if this stuff is getting published