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We have talked in this series so far about confronting,
evaluating and then either rejecting or accepting information
on a given subject. We have also looked at two aspects of
how we retain information once we have accepted it as useful.
In part 4 of this series we looked at how mental processing is essential to ensure storage of information in medium-term
memory.
In part 5 we discussed the process of assimilation whereby
new data is associated with parts of the subject we already
have a strong familiarity with.
There is a sense in which every new part of a subject we
learn has to make a journey through the stages of being: confronted,
evaluated, mentally processed, remembered, assimilated and connected with what we know already.
What if we left things there? Would we still have that information
to hand in 10 years time? Probably not! Because we still have
a couple more steps to go before we attain the goal.
The goal is to KNOW the information. When you know something
you no longer have to remember it. You just know it!
A great example of a piece of information we know is our
own name. Unless we have had far too much to drink, we don't
normally have to think too hard when someone asks 'Who are
you?'!
Two things help us get to know a piece of information:
Firstly the process of FAMILIARIZATION. This means frequent
use. Put the information to use mentally and physically. Talk
about it. Write it. Draw it. Do it. Often.
Secondly the process of UNDERSTANDING. Research the piece
of information. Learn its origins. Find out about its structure.
See if it belongs to a class or group. Get to know everything
you can about it.
Familiarization and understanding are almost always gradual
processes. They generally take time. At a certain point along
the way the information has become so familiar and our understanding
of it so deep that we could safely say we know that now.
At that point we are home and dry and we will never lose
our understanding of that part of the subject regardless of
whether we continue to work with it or not.
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How
learning got a bad name for itself
