How We Learn: Why Brains Learn Better Than Any Machine . . . for Now

science of learning suggests that they are not ideal, because they encourage last-minute work rather than regular practice.

This is why scientists speak of a sensitive period rather than a critical period: the capacity for learning shrinks but never truly reaches zero.

Set clear learning objectives. Students learn best when the purpose of learning is clearly stated to them and when they can see that everything at their disposal converges toward that purpose. Clearly explain what is expected of them, and stay focused on that goal.

records the unfolding episodes of our daily lives.

to learn is to progressively form, in silicon and neural circuits alike, an internal model of the outside world.

Habituation refers to an organism’s capacity to adapt to the repeated presence of a stimulus

At birth, all the large fiber bundles of the brain are already in place. Brain plasticity can, however, reorganize their terminal connections. Millions of synapses undergo plastic changes every time we acquire new knowledge. Enriching children’s environments, for instance, by sending them to school, can deeply enhance their brains and augment them

LEARNING IS MINIMIZING ERRORS

LEARNING IS OPTIMIZING A REWARD FUNCTION