8.24.2009

Brain Rule #12: Exploration

The greatest Brain Rule of all is something I cannot prove or characterize, but I believe in it with all my heart. It is the importance of curiosity. Watch the Exploration video below or on YouTube.


Summary

Rule #12
We are powerful and natural explorers.

Babies are the model of how we learn—not by passive reaction to the environment but by active testing through observation, hypothesis, experiment, and conclusion.

Specific parts of the brain allow this scientific approach. The right prefrontal cortex looks for errors in our hypothesis (“The saber-toothed tiger is not harmless”), and an adjoining region tells us to change behavior (“Run!”)

We recognize and imitate behavior because of “mirror neurons” scattered across the brain.

Some parts of our adult brains stay as malleable as a baby’s, so we can create neurons and learn new things throughout our lives.

View the Exploration Tutorial

2 comments:

Don Frederiksen said...

I'm a hug fan of your rules and book. This morning I am delighted. I am thankful that #12 is the most important rule and not #1. Thanks for making my day.

Mmasarech said...

Thanks very much for this post. I immediately sent the link to my daughters 15 and 12. I hope it will help them learn how to learn in a way that their schools don't.
Thx again.