Thanks for posting this article!!!

Re this:

quote:

The building blocks of understanding are memorization and repetition.

Yes indeed! I see it in my experience with piano, I see it my experience learning foreign languages, and there is a fair amount of research that points to the importance of memorization.... And yet, it has a "bad rap"

Also this:

quote:

a textbook example of the potential for adult neural plasticity

Adult neural plasticity is another topic I'm very interested in, I think adults are just a lot more ... neurally plastic than many people think.

And this!

quote:

math and science students can often grasp essentials of an important idea, but this understanding can quickly slip away without consolidation through practice and repetition.

This is so relevant for languages and music as well, and I think that's part of the reason why adults struggle, whether it be with a foreign language or a new instrument, because it's hard to get them to do the actual *practice* and repetition needed...

In other news about adult neural plasticity, since the pandemic started, I've been teaching myself how to "shoot baskets" (tissues, wads of paper, into the trash can) with my left hand (I'm right handed).
I'm starting to get really good and having been thinking I want to get a basketball hoop outside...

That was great. Thanks for posting it.

Her description of how she thought about f = ma reminded me of how physicist Richard Feynman said his father taught him about all kinds of stuff. Dad didn't just throw out equations, he gave him real world examples to bring them to life. His book Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman is a hoot.