🌱 On learning

Three main cognitive features of perception are: _ Constancy — the ability to recognize the same object from different viewpoints. _ Grouping — the tendency of humans to perceive organized patterns and objects. * Contrast effects — the experience of an object being affected by objects around it.

Learning

Learning is the acquisition of knowledge and skills through experience or study.

There are many theories about how learning works. None is universally accepted by the field of cognitive psychology, though most psychologists share the view that learning is a dynamic process that unfolds gradually over time, and is driven by the learner making connections between things that previously seemed disconnected.

Here are a few commonly held cognitive principles of learning: _ Well-organized materials are easier to learn and remember. _ The way a topic is presented influences how easily people can learn it. _ Prior knowledge is key; to learn a new thing it must fit with what is already known. _ Different individuals have different styles of learning: visual, auditory, tactile, etc.

Our craving for information is built right into the name of our species: homo sapiens, the man who knows. Acquiring information and knowledge — e.g. learning — is basically an addiction; doing it releases pleasure-inducing neurochemicals in the brain. In effect, we as a species are hooked from birth, driven to acquire knowledge