2008 Woodie Awards
How to be a sponge: A collection of intellectual how-tos
Kali Griggs
Issue date: 12/3/04 Section: Forum
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Brain Facts
The cerebrum makes up 85% of the brain's weight.
The brain lets you:
* Solve math problems
* Play video games
* Feed your cat
* Do a dance
* Engage in a multitude of other brain-stimulating activities.
Your brain develops knowledge with an army of neurons - microscopic cells that act as connectors. You were born with all the neurons you will ever have, but many of them were not connected to each other when you were born. When you learn things, messages travel from one neuron to another. Eventually, the brain starts to create connections between the neurons and you increase your repertoire of do-able tasks.
Tips to improve memory:
* Teach material to others
* Turn study material into a game
* The Method of Loci*
Visualize!
When Einstein faced a problem, he visualized his subject in as many ways as possible, utilizing tools like outlines and diagrams. Thinking is a process - this genius believed that words and numbers alone do not play a significant role.
Produce!
Thomas Edison held 1,093 patents. Not all were successful, but this inventor was not afraid to fail on his way to success.
From Guilford's Own
Kim Garner
"Long-term memory is like the attic, and the short-term memory are the stairs that lead up to it. When you go into the attic and see that everything is in a red box, you won't be able to identify what is in them. You have to package what you have learned in a way that you can easily identify it later."
"Utilize a study guide. Take it to your professor and say, 'Am I on the right track?' They'll go over it with you. They eat that stuff up. Learn to play the game, use their office hours."
"The key to success is to (study) every day rather than cramming it in at the last moment. If you don't refresh what you have learned, you will lose 80 percent of it after 24 hours. This is particularly true with things you have to build on like foreign language vocabulary. You would be better off if you spent 30 minutes every day."
The cerebrum makes up 85% of the brain's weight.
The brain lets you:
* Solve math problems
* Play video games
* Feed your cat
* Do a dance
* Engage in a multitude of other brain-stimulating activities.
Your brain develops knowledge with an army of neurons - microscopic cells that act as connectors. You were born with all the neurons you will ever have, but many of them were not connected to each other when you were born. When you learn things, messages travel from one neuron to another. Eventually, the brain starts to create connections between the neurons and you increase your repertoire of do-able tasks.
Tips to improve memory:
* Teach material to others
* Turn study material into a game
* The Method of Loci*
Visualize!
When Einstein faced a problem, he visualized his subject in as many ways as possible, utilizing tools like outlines and diagrams. Thinking is a process - this genius believed that words and numbers alone do not play a significant role.
Produce!
Thomas Edison held 1,093 patents. Not all were successful, but this inventor was not afraid to fail on his way to success.
From Guilford's Own
Kim Garner
"Long-term memory is like the attic, and the short-term memory are the stairs that lead up to it. When you go into the attic and see that everything is in a red box, you won't be able to identify what is in them. You have to package what you have learned in a way that you can easily identify it later."
"Utilize a study guide. Take it to your professor and say, 'Am I on the right track?' They'll go over it with you. They eat that stuff up. Learn to play the game, use their office hours."
"The key to success is to (study) every day rather than cramming it in at the last moment. If you don't refresh what you have learned, you will lose 80 percent of it after 24 hours. This is particularly true with things you have to build on like foreign language vocabulary. You would be better off if you spent 30 minutes every day."
