how to brain learns

[sushi]

another brain thread about learning

learning process can be divided into inputs and outputs

input --> knowing--> output
my theory is
input = sense , record teach absorb

knowing and assimiate
output= organize understand express, use connect

 

[fluffy]

All learning has something guiding the process along. It is not just contemplation which is putting things together in thoughts only, internal feedback mostly. Learning is immediate external feedback. You're not creating something purely in imagination but understand how something works from an outside source.

 

[sushi]

reccording and input is the first step

the brain is learning whether you are studying or watching tv, you cant just switch it off.

record process output.

 

[sushi]

learning is related to exchange,

the exchange between the book and you, when you read the book is part of learning

learning is related to conversion

conversion of stimuli inputs into action potential

learning to related to motion , experience and replacement

i cant prove this one, but motion and experience/replacement cause the brain to learn

 

[sushi]

i think there are many levels of brain learning

the most basic level is exchange, where you observe something and exchange information with reality( reading a book is also exchanging information)

if you close your eyes, you stop exchanging visual information with reality

the second level is converting stimuli into action potential

third level is filtering and storing it into brain, or recognizing action potential

the fourth level is replacing old information with new information, and association

( i also think encoding information into files like a computer happens inside the brain, but i cant prove it)

 

[Haim]

It is more complex than a system of input and output.
At the base you have a function, so it receive input and give output.
One way this function is adjusted is like find the right temp in the shower or like training a dog. If you do action and it lead to hotter water than the brain know it need to retrain the "finding the right temp" function.
The thing about the brain is that there are countless such functions unlike the AI tech which has very few such functions.
Unlike the current AI tech the brain can create new functions on the fly, it can create sub routines such as moving the shower handle, checking the water temp. The brain can create new goals, functions that can create new functions.
Another aspect is intuition, which is to predict future output based on previous input, this is what current AI do, like AlphaGo and LLM. This intuition system is what I think created the imagination system(voice in the head). Giving we can create audio and images than we surely we can also able to create "touch and pain" I wonder how that work, maybe feeling are that.
Another aspect is the chemicals and the input we receive from the entire body. Our brain is not actually just the organ itself, the entire body is like a second computer which communicate with the brain. Say you eat steak, a microbe may produce material which will create an input to your brain so you eat more steak , we have countless such microbes, they create a very complex computing system.

 

[sushi]

It is more complex than a system of input and output.
At the base you have a function, so it receive input and give output.
One way this function is adjusted is like find the right temp in the shower or like training a dog. If you do action and it lead to hotter water than the brain know it need to retrain the "finding the right temp" function.
The thing about the brain is that there are countless such functions unlike the AI tech which has very few such functions.
Unlike the current AI tech the brain can create new functions on the fly, it can create sub routines such as moving the shower handle, checking the water temp. The brain can create new goals, functions that can create new functions.
Another aspect is intuition, which is to predict future output based on previous input, this is what current AI do, like AlphaGo and LLM. This intuition system is what I think created the imagination system(voice in the head). Giving we can create audio and images than we surely we can also able to create "touch and pain" I wonder how that work, maybe feeling are that.
Another aspect is the chemicals and the input we receive from the entire body. Our brain is not actually just the organ itself, the entire body is like a second computer which communicate with the brain. Say you eat steak, a microbe may produce material which will create an input to your brain so you eat more steak , we have countless such microbes, they create a very complex computing system.

you are right, its pretty much a black box.

replacement means replacing and displacing old memories with new memories,

learn something new is most effective way to forget old knowledge since the new memories replace the old memories.

 

[fluffy]

learn something new is most effective way to forget old knowledge since the new memories replace the old memories.

Memories don't get replaced they decay.

New pathways build atop old ones. So the old ones stay activated.

If you remember something a day later it's permanently there.

 

[dr froyd]

probably not relevant to the topic, but i had a fascinating experience with learning recently

until recently i couldn't sing. I know i couldn't sing because i have a decent ear (e.g. i can tune a guitar by ear) so i could clearly hear that i wasn't able to hit the right notes. But without training how to sing i became able to sing. How? By trying to do something unrelated to singing, namely making electronic music. By merely working with notes and frequencies, learning various scales, trying to reconstruct various songs by ear etc, it seems that the brain created a model of frequencies that automatically became linked to the vocal cords. I would never have guessed that could work

 

[ZenRaiden]

Learning is not just remembering something, or knowing something.

For example when I played a game 100s of times learning became more than just knowing the right moves.

Learning is creating new connections.
Creating new unique connections.
Creating new connections that integrate with old connections.
Then when you integrate something 100s of times its as if you have new set of intuitions.

Your brain can rewire in absolutely amazing ways. Sometimes learning can even slightly alter brain architecture with 1000s of new connections.

 

[sushi]

learn something new is most effective way to forget old knowledge since the new memories replace the old memories.

Memories don't get replaced they decay.

New pathways build atop old ones. So the old ones stay activated.

If you remember something a day later it's permanently there.

my experience is that i am trying to learn several languages.

i instantly forget some of the old words from one language when i am learning or moving to a new one or topic, so i figure the old knowledge has been displaced by new memories.

if the old memories arent reinforced well they will be forgetten.

i dont know, but it happens for me at least.

 

[Haim]

Learning is not just remembering something, or knowing something.

For example when I played a game 100s of times learning became more than just knowing the right moves.

Learning is creating new connections.
Creating new unique connections.
Creating new connections that integrate with old connections.
Then when you integrate something 100s of times its as if you have new set of intuitions.

Your brain can rewire in absolutely amazing ways. Sometimes learning can even slightly alter brain architecture with 1000s of new connections.

My thinking on how that work is that memory is resented by functions.
So every input the brain get(and internally made) is transforming functions which
are basically a lossy compressed databases you can query. Then you have functions that determine what databases you query. Given the brain have function that can create input(visuals ,sounds) it can also manipulate the databases, so you can imagine a dragon and save that dragon in the database, with the improved database you can now create more accurate dragon and again improve the database for dragons.
After that either you improve the compression algorithm and you can imagine everything better or you lost information from the database and everything that is not dragon will be worse off.

 

[Bluehalite]

It depends on what its for. For work and business, where I'm going to use the knowlege, I can write the important pieces down and refer back so I get it into long term memory faster. I let all the pieces of information gather for a long time until I can piece something together into an accurate picture that I can comprehend all at once sort of. Otherwise, if its just a class I'm taking that I won't really use or care about, like language, history, its just a lot of data in pieces that I'd rather not bother with.

Whole picture cohesive world view and a reason to learn it are important. My chosing to learn it is important. I never cared when it was forced on me in elementary school. But in college, it was me chosing and totally different kind of learning. Chosing it and wanting to learn makes me more interested and it sticks better.

Also, I learn best when an answer to a question is given, not when I have to sort thru many answers and select them like most school tests do.
Ie, I want it presented as quickly, cohesively, and know why its important to know, it useful to me?

Is there physical repetition involved? Hands on repetition helps me learn it faster. I have no use for history class data, its just events with dates of one particular thing, and if I can't see from beginning to end cohesively, ie, I don't care very much. But with literature, humanities, arts, philosophy, woodshop, science, finance, taxes, payroll, accounting, electronics, hands on whatever, I can apply right away, and I absorb that because its immediately useful and applicable.

And yes, you need to see a piece of information three times and one week apart x 3 to get it into long term memory at least with more boring facts.
3 x 5 cards taped up on the car dashboard to study at red lights, or on the way to the test worked pretty good. Reading the summaries at the end of each chapter then going back for the details worked better, ie, I had the framework first, then fill in the details so I'm not trying to grasp the framework the whole time. Its just easier to see what they want you to know first, then get the details. Speed reading, and speed writing the lecture helped me some also. I was one of the few that could write the essay because I think at the speed of writing naturally, and writing is where my memory is best. Definitely not speaking / recall because I'm overstimulated by learning the moods and energies in the room usually, that is, unless I've lived something and know it well, in that case, I can speak well, but impromptu in person is harder, on the phone works fine.

Right now, I'm trying to learn acrylic painting and I'm gathering certain types of brushes, learning what they are for, gathering various tools, the exact way to start a painting, the composition and rule of thirds, the diagonals and how something makes the eye move across the page, the color theory and mixing colors, the sorts of marks you can make, the layers, the different pastes, glosses, to make paint layer on and make it look translucent, the specific art stool and table height that works for me, the specific chair type, the exact brand of paint, chosing the most varied or interesting stencil types, selecting long lasting acrylic pens to outline with, chosing gesso'd canvases, having inner visuals of what you want to paint, watching a lot of videos on techniques, learning both traditional painting and abstract painting, there are a thousand aspects that you need to have in mind and then the years of practice behind it too. Its a lot.

Texture tools: https://a.co/d/aCeAvP1
Acrylic markers that don't dry out after one use: https://a.co/d/fYuQkOw
Stencils: https://a.co/d/7U4Tokx
Finding a stool that will rise to 31" for an art table that has no arms
Small palette that keeps acrylics moist so you don't have to remix and get the wrong tints or shades: https://a.co/d/9sRfs7w
Good brushes: https://a.co/d/fRMwX4m
Wetting agents and learning how to open the tops with gloves on and ventilation, ie, there is a seal that you must remove before it comes out, pfft: https://a.co/d/4hPQFqi
Wearing gloves because its all very toxic, and on and on. https://a.co/d/51qiXiv
Glazing liquids: https://a.co/d/bP4e6Dx
Color mixing and wheels: https://a.co/d/0doVXY6
Palette knives: https://a.co/d/gkmd1IJ
Learning which colors to buy:
So, a lot of it is GATHERING, PRACTICING, RELEARNING, IMAGINING, SEQUENCES, PATIENCE, PLAYING, APPLYING, FLEXIBLE MINDSET, STARING AT A BLANK CANVAS, ADAPTING, LEARNING TO ENJOY WHATEVER LEVEL YOURE AT, ALLOWING MISTAKES AND NOT BEING PRECIOUS, TRYING, ADDING MORE KNOWLEDGE ON TOP OF, REARRANGING and RECALLING. Its not just input and output, its pretty complex. Especially when you are thinking of multiple things at once, ie, composition, color, techniques, beginning, processes, end visions, layers, subjects, on and on, it gets quite complicated and learning is one thing and doing is another! Just do it!