The Entire book Flashcards
What does it mean to be in focused mode?
To be in focused mode means you are paying close attention to something
What is diffuse mode? And what are your favorite diffuse activities?
The diffuse mode is when your mind is wandering freely, not focusing on anything in particular. Your favorite diffuse mode activities are up to you!
How does a pinball machine (or two) help you understand how your brain works?
A pinball machine helps you understand how your brain works. You can have two different types of tables. First, you can have a machine with the rubber bumpers spaced close together. This close-together layout mimics your tightly focused thinking when you are in focused mode. But you can have a different table with the bumpers spaced farther apart. This is like the diffuse mode, where your thoughts can range much more widely. If you don’t keep your focus by using the flippers,the thought-ball can fall through a hole in the focused table onto the diffuse table!
What is another metaphor for focused and diffuse modes?
Here are some other metaphors for focused and diffuse modes:
On Google Maps: Zooming in is like focused mode. Zooming out is like diffuse mode. You need to toggle back and forth between zoomed in and zoomed out in order to find your way
In a garden :
Focused mode is like carefully spacing and planting the seeds in late winter. Diffuse mode is like spring, when the garden emerges with unexpected surprises due to the weather, birds, and insects
What are the two different ways you can get stuck when you are solving a math and science problem?
The two ways you can get stuck in math and science problem solving. First, you haven’t focused hard enough on the basics before starting to solve the problem. When this happens, you need to go back to your book or notes to get those basics in mind. Second, you have focused hard enough on the basics, but you haven’t taken a break when you got stuck. Taking a break when you get stuck helps your diffuse mode to work in the background of your mind, while you’re not aware of it
What’s the one study habit that you would change as a result of reading this chapter ?
The study habit you would change is up to you
What is procrastination ?
Procrastination means delaying or postponing something that you should be doing.
Why is procrastination bad for your learning ?
Procrastination is bad for your learning because you run out of time to learn properly. And you spend energy worrying about it. That’s a lose-lose situation.
What happens in your brain when you think about something you don’t like or don’t want to do ?
Thinking about something you don’t like or don’t want to do fires up the insular cortex. This causes a painful feeling. To get rid of the painful feeling, we can end up switching our attention to something more pleasant. The pain in our brain goes away immediately—but we’ve just procrastinated.
How would you explain the Pomodoro Technique to someone who had never heard of it ?
This explanation is up to you
What is the most important part of the whole Pomodoro process ?
The reward is the most important part of the Pomodoro process.
What should you do during your break between Pomodoros ?
During the break between Pomodoros, try to do something that uses a different part of your brain. If you’ve just been writing a report, don’t write a post on social media. The best breaks involve getting up and moving around.
Should you plan to finish a task during a Pomodoro? Why or why not ?
If you happen to finish a task during the Pomodoro session, fine. But the point of the Pomodoro isn’t to finish the task. It’s just to work as intently as you can for 25 minutes.
What can be good about going into zombie mode ?
Zombie mode is a great energy saver. It can be a bad use of your brainpower to think about every single thing.
What does zombie mode have to do with procrastination ?
Although zombie mode can help save energy, you can also find yourself falling into bad habits. Like doing something more pleasant instead of something that needs to be done. In other words, zombie mode can lead to procrastination.
What was the point of the arsenic eaters story? How does it link to procrastination ?
The arsenic eaters got used to eating arsenic, and didn’t realize it was harming them. In a similar way, we can get used to procrastinating, and not realize how much it is harming us.
Explain the idea of active recall.
Active recall means pulling key information from your own mind, instead of looking at your book or notes. One way to recall is to read a page, then look away and see if you can recall the key idea on that page.
……………………. (examinons de plus près) at your mental school bag, that is your working memory.
Let’s take a closer look at your mental school bag, that is your working memory.
………… (chaque fois qu’elle le veut), your attentional octopus can …….. (faire jaillir) a tiny little bit of electricity at the end of its arms.
Whenever it wants to, your attentional octopus can spark a tiny little bit of electricity at the end of its arms.
Your attentional octopus is busy, arms all ………….. (enchevêtrés) with each other.
Your attentional octopus is busy, arms all entangled with each other.
The ______________ that neurons send to other neurons form your ______________.
The signals that neurons send to other neurons form your thoughts.
Does an axon shock a dendritic spine? Or does a dendritic spine shock an axon? In other words, does the signal go from the axon to the dendritic spine? Or the other way around?
The axon shocks the dendritic spine. In other words, a signal passes from the axon of one neuron to the dendritic spine of the next neuron.
What do you do when a metaphor breaks down and doesn’t work anymore?
When a metaphor breaks down and doesn’t work anymore, you get a new one.
Why did scientists think that your brain was made of one single neuron network instead of thinking that there were many smaller neurons that sent signals to each other across tiny gaps?
Microscopes back in the early 1900s weren’t very good compared to what we can see today. Scientists thought your brain was one big interconnected network because the neurons came so close to one another that they couldn’t see the tiny gap—the synaptic gap—in between them.
What is a “set of brain-links”?
A set of brain-links are neurons that have become connected through repeated use of synaptic links. Brain-links are what develop when you learn something new and you practice repeatedly with it.
How is a “thought” similar to a mouse in a forest?
Mice run along forest paths, just like thoughts run along neurons and synapses. The more the mouse runs along the path, the deeper and wider the path gets. In a similar way, the more you think a thought, the thicker and wider the neural pathway becomes, and the stronger the brain-links become.
When you learn something new, you form a new set of ______________ in your brain.
When you learn something new, you form a new set of links/ synapses/ dendritic spines in your brain.
Why is sleep important when it comes to learning?
Sleep is important when it comes to learning because that’s when new dendritic spines and their synapse links really “pop” and grow larger. Sleep is also when the mind rehearses the information you’ve been learning. The electrical signals that arise while rehearsing during sleep are part of why the dendritic spines and their synapse links grow so rapidly.
How are dendritic spines like lie detectors?
Dendritic spines are like lie detectors because new spines and their synapses grow only if you’re really focusing on the new information you want to learn—they can tell when you’re not actually focusing.
What happens to a synapse when you practice a new idea?
When you practice a new idea, the synapse involved becomes stronger.
Why is it good to space out your learning?
When you space out your learning over a number of days, you have more time to grow dendritic spines and their synaptic connections. Your neural architecture becomes stronger.
