The formula by which most people use their brain is that success depends on the number of times you try. The more you try the better you will become. Thus forgetting the basic principle of learning: feedback. Why do most of us think this way? Perhaps because it is taught at school and is a basic tenet of science.
The 'scientific' method starts in early childhood at school. Children are told to do something and if they cannot perform satisfactorily, they are told they are not doing well. This fact is corroborated when the child compares its work with that of others and thus is convinced it is no good at..... (whatever it was doing). The children are told to do it by themselves and not to cheat (= compare and learn!). So authority in the person of the teacher has established the fact that it is no good at ...... So many grown-ups have this idea that they are no good at: mathematics, drawing, music or ........ .
Our brain is perfect, but we are not always (??!) using it perfectly. When we use the formula: "I'm not good at .... .", the brain will perform worse and worse in this area; we are bound to see the evidence because of our failures. And failures are bad: our culture rewards success and punishes failure, in spite of the idea that we must learn from our mistakes. So we are trained in the schools to avoid failure, yet to make mistakes, i.e. to fail, is necessary to learn.
The 6 months' old child has no such fear and when given a toy it will have most interest in the wrapping: it will tear at the paper (tensile strength test), put it into its mouth (biochemical laboratory), spit it out (quality control reject= unfit for food), bang it on the table (try out the possibility for producing sound), etc. . The child is using its complete brain and is not hindered by any stereotyping. Stereotypes (cf. boundaries) such as intuitive > female, rational > male. It is not afraid to make mistakes; no, it tries and the trial provides feedback. This feedback is fed into the brain and stored, and thus we see few children who continue to eat newspapers because they find them nice and nourishing.
Therefore it is essential for most of us to reprogram our brains i.e. use it according to a different formula. The new, original formula will make complete use of the brain and both sides will add: synergy. Data perceived will be passed from one side to the other and become more extensive; to multiply or subtract imagery can help very much; for making calculations we tend to look at the ceiling: we then project the image of numbers in order to facilitate calculation. When learning by heart children often tend to move their bodies rhythmically: rhythm combined with linearity. Fairy tales are methods to remember! By "dressing up" the facts into a story we can recall them very easily and we make use of the axiom: the more you know, the easier it is to know more.
The basic formula makes it possible to learn to learn, which is essential before one can learn.
Tony Buzan points out that our note-taking is not very effective:
compare the different styles, the purpose and the tool kit
styles purposes tool-kit
1 sentence style creativity words
order in thinking grammar
to aid recall lines
2 list of ideas communication order
thinking tool logic (chronology)
3 division 1 a effectivity lists
b, 2 a efficiency sequence
b, etc. one colour
4 messy style order in chaos ??
According to T. Buzan approx. 95 % of the people who prepare speeches follow one of the first 3 methods. It is the one (=mono) colour (=tone) approach i.e. monotonous. In this way people are boring themselves and others. Other places where you can observe this are the big libraries all over the world: giant bedrooms.
This method of organization is based on the following assumptions: It looks neat, others can read it, it helps, it is acceptable and conforms with what most people do. This is the result of systematic training received at school. Copy-books given in had to be in one style. It is not the best way for processing data (though for the teacher it is!), it makes the way in which we work adapt to the required end result. It means too much attention for the goal and not for the way to get there. If you keep the goal in mind, you will not just automatically improve. Neither do you get better after every try. We often experience 'beginners' luck' and disaster follows. Later on when it does not work very well the continuous line to success is broken. If we start from the formula that the more we try the better we get, this is the moment we say: "Oh, s..t", "I can't ...", I won't...", "I'll never ...", the point at which we fail. This is very logical and rational. It even makes sense if you assume that the brain works in that way, i.e. as a sort of trial and error mechanism, which it certainly is not.
The brain is a superb and fantastic organ designed and evolved to learn. When I use it well I pay attention to the following :
1 I must use all my senses. (Systems must have the capacity to sense, monitor, and scan significant aspects of their environment.)
2 I must compare the error with the goal. ( Systems must be able to relate this information to the operating norms that guide system behaviour.)
3 I must study the error. (Systems must be able to detect significant deviations from these norms.)
4 I should use my creativity to do it better, which will mean differently. (Systems must be able to detect significant deviations from these norms.must be able to initiate corrective action when discrepancies are detected.)
If these four conditions are satisfied, a continuous process of information exchange is created between a system (any individual) and its environment, allowing me to monitor changes and initiate appropriate responses. The action to deal with deviations from the norm should be appropriate, otherwise the "intelligence" of the system breaks down.
The intelligence will increase if I want to learn, learn all I can and question things.
Of course we are human beings, certainly "not only human" -this is the common statement we utter when we have made a mistake- but if we believe we are at the top of the evolution, we better behave like that.
Mindmapping might help, check it out.