Don't know if some of you remembered, but I was talking about something I read in Annabelle's textbook once, and I mentioned I'd summarize it here because I thought it was really interesting. DON'T WORRY THIS WILL NOT BE SOME NERDY BORING SCIENCE-Y STUFF. If you guys found all my Shakky talk somewhat interesting you'll find this somewhat interesting too.
In the book, The Brain that Changes Itself, there's a chapter on Imagination. This caught my attention because I consider myself somewhat of an outstanding imaginator (Err, yeah I realize that's not a word).
"One reason we can change our brains simply by imagining is that, from a neuroscientific point of view, imagining an act and doing it are not as different as they sound. When people close their eyes and visualize a simple object, such as the letter a, the primary visual cortex lights up, just as it would if the subjects were actually looking at the letter a. Brain scans show that in action and imagination many of the same parts of the brain are activated. That is why visualizing can improve performance."
Which means, all those lazy moments I spend in bed day dreaming and imagining and thinking wasn't so unproductive at all! (This is bad, I might actually just use this as an excuse to stay in bed all the time.)
Some studies that were done:
"Pascual-Leone taught two groups of people, who had never studied piano, a sequence of notes, showing them which fingers to move and letting them hear the notes as they were played. Then members of one group, the 'mental practice' group, sat in front of an electric piano keyboard, two hours a day, for five days, and imagined both playing the sequence and hearing it played. A second 'physical practice' group actually played the music two hours a day for five days. Both groups had their brains mapped before the experiment and each day during it, and afterward. Then both groups were asked to play the sequence, and a computer measured the accuracy of their performances.
He found that both groups learned to play the sequence, and both showed similar brain map changes. Remarkably, mental practice alone produced the same physical changes in the motor system as actually playing the piece. By the end of the fifth day, the changes in motor signals to the muscles were the same in both groups, and the imagining plays were as accurate as the actual players were on the third day."
Is this amazing or what? This reminds me of underprivilaged kids who can't afford certain things, like a keyboard/piano, but has the desire to be a great musician. If you only give them a picture of a keyboard and teach them to learn notes, they might just be able to become a great musician by just staring and imagining playing the piece.
Continuing with other studies that were done: (This is relevant to students)
"After a brief period of practice, as when we cram for a test, it is relatively easy to improve because we are likely strengthening existing synaptic connections. But we quickly forget what we've crammed - because these are easy-come, easy-go neuronal connections and are rapidly reversed. Maintaining improvement and making a skill permanent require the slow steady work that probably forms new connections. If a learner thinks he is making no cumulative progress, or feels his mind is 'like a sieve,' he needs to keep at the skill until he gets 'the Monday effect,' ..... the 'tortoises,' who seem slow to pick up a skill, may nevertheless learn it better than their 'hare' friends - the 'quick studies' who won't necessarily hold on to what they have learned without the sustained practice that solidifies learning."
This is proof that slow and steady does win the race.
Another Study:
"Consider the case of Rudiger Gamm, a young German man of normal intelligence who turned himself into a mathematical phenomenon, a human calculator. Though Gamm was not born with exceptional mathematical ability, he can now calculate the ninth power or the fifth root of numbers and solve such problems as 'What is 68 times 76?' in five seconds. Beginning at the age 20, Gamm, who worked in a bank, began doing four hours of computational practice a day. By the time he was twenty-six, he had become a calculating genius, able to make his living by performing on television. Investigators who examined him with a positron emission tomography brain scan while he was calculating found he was able to recruit five or more brain areas for calculating than 'normal people.' People like Gamm rely on long-term memory to help solve mathematical problems when others rely on short-term memory. Experts don't store the answers, but they do store key facts and strategies that help them get answers, and they have immediate access to them, as though they were short-term memory. This use of long term memory for problem solving is typical of experts in most fields, which takes about a decade of concentrated effort."
Can I say that Rudiger Gamm is now my hero? Not only does he make a living by doing MATH on TV (I LOL'ed a lot when I read that part) but he was an AVERAGE PERSON who turned himself into a calculating genius simply by practicing math four hours a day. And he started at the age of 20, not as a child, which really means that I'm not too old to accomplish something if I wanted. I've always considered myself too old to learn anything new.
When people, like me, say "I can't do math," it just means we refuse to learn or be dedicated. This applies for other things as well, like music, writing and school.
Note: I don't think this applies to everything, however. I really doubt that if I blog everyday I'll become an accomplished blogger, if anything I'll accomplish being narcissistic, since blogging is mostly talking about yourself.
There's another half to the chapter but I don't want to bore you guys too much. All I can say is: The brain is really amazing, it can never stop absorbing information, as long as you're dedicated enough to something. Which is why I've decided I'm going to be a math genius. Starting today, I will dedicate an hour to math. (After hot pot tonight at Duy's that is.)
I'm only half serious, but I do want to pick up a new skill. Yesterday I found this old song book that someone from Church gave me once, and on the front cover it had all the chords for the guitar. It was perfect because I've been playing (albeit very badly) all these old songs I use to sing in high school, it's really relaxing and good meditative sessions.
Me: I don't care if I play the guitar really badly because only God is listening.
Amy's Guitar: Twannggg, gugchleeee, pwickpwick ....
Chorus to one of the old songs:
That God is there for me tomorrow, as he is for me today;
That He'll take my cares and sorrow, And He'll wipe them all away;
There's no crisis that He can't bear,
There's no storm he can't abate;
He's my God, He's my God.
This was a good reminder that God is in charge of all things. Though I'm obsessing about certain thoughts concerning certain people, I shouldn't be. I should just leave everything up to Him and I don't need to put myself in the middle of it all.
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