【Learn how to learn】Interview with Dr. Terrence Sejnowski

What do you do to help yourself learn more easily, when you’re looking at something completely new?

I’m a firm believer in learning by doing, and learning by osmosis from people who are experts.

How do you keep yourself paying attention, during something like a boring lecture?

I found that there isn’t, a simple way to keep yourself attending something that you’re not interested in. But I have found a little trick to waylay the, the speaker, and that is by asking a question. And the interruption often, gives rise to a discussion that is a lot more interesting. And it actually follows the general principle which is that you learn more by active engagement rather than passive listening.

So, what do you do to get into and take advantage of diffuse mode thinking?

I find that when I’m jogging, or out getting exercise, that it’s a wonderful way to get the mind disengaged, from the normal train of thought. And I find that it’s very very possible to to sort of come up with new thoughts, new ideas.

So, do you multitask, or, or if you don’t, how do you resist the urge to multitask when you want to multitask?

Well, I wouldn’t survive if I couldn’t multitask. And most of my talking with students, listening to lectures, interacting with a lot of people who are passing through, visitors. There’s just a lot things that are bombarding you, email, texting any these are very important things that you want to do, but if you can’t juggle them, it’s hard to get through the day. However, I, I enjoy the evenings when the hubbub of the day quiets down, and I get a chance to go into a, a more reflective mode, and that’s when I actually get my best work done.

Do you do two things at the same time ever?

Well, you know, you can’t actually do two things, consciously, at the same time, because those will get mixed up. It, it is possible with a lot of training, actually, to do two things at once, is, but you’re not doing it efficiently.

For me, multitasking is, is being able to switch back and forth, context switching from one topic to another. And some people are better at that than others. Switching from that to another task is sometimes very difficult to do, if you’re middle of something.

How do you apply your knowledge of neuroscience, to your own learning?

If you read the textbooks, it will tell you that all the neurons that you have in your brain you had a birth. And after birth, the wiring takes place and learning, and that changes at the, the connections between the neurons. But the, but they’re the same old neurons that you had when you were born. Some die. You know, so there is shrinkage of your, of your cortex. However, Rusty discovered that, in an important part of your brain for learning, and memory, the Hippocampus, new neurons are being born, even in your adulthood.

Having an enriched environment is even as an adult is going to help you. Instead of locking yourself, a monk in the room you really want to be surrounded by other people who are stimulating you. And events that are happening that you can actively participate in.

That in the absence of an enriched environment exercise will also increase the number of new neurons that are being born and survive. I know, that my brain is helping me remember things, because of the fact that I have new neurons being born, and surviving in my hippocampus.

Have there been any special techniques you’ve acquired over the years that help you focus, learn or create more effectively.

Although the image we have of the creative thinker as being isolated genius may be true of some people, it’s not true of me. I really find that I have better ideas if I’m talking to somebody, and trying to explain to them my ideas. Often, that process can, it boosts the creative process and the facts, I think that you know, having other people around to bounce your ideas off of is really for me a very, very important part of doing science.

How about test taking?Any special advice there?

Tests are like any other skill. You can learn them. You can learn to be a better test taker. And you have a lot of good ideas about that. I’ve discovered that the… what you need… things to avoid, for example. Don’t get hung up if you can’t answer a question. Go on to the next, because you can always come back and in fact, often, the answer to the problem that was holding you back may actually pop in to your brain later on in the test. This is how our brains work, things work along parallel tracks.

If you had any advice for a young high school or college student, about how to learn effectively, what would you say?

But I know a lot of people, who are very, very passionate. And persistent. A lot of success in life is that passion and persistence, of really staying the course, staying working on it, and, not letting go. Not giving up. That’s really, I think the most important, quality that I see in students, that I work with, who are successful.