Don't you love a teacher who can tell a good joke?
You know the kind:
Each class begins on a funny note.
You hang on every word, no matter how difficult.
In fact … it pains you when the lectures end.
You can hardly believe it, but as tough as the information flowing from your teacher might get, you simply cannot get enough.
When that happens …
Don't Despair!
And understand this:
According to Barbara Oakley in her new book, Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles And Discover Your Hidden Potential, successful teachers have a strange ability …
… the ability to wrap candy around the crusted salt of difficult ideas.
In other words, great teachers make challenging concepts easier for your brain to absorb and remember.
How On Earth Do They Accomplish That?
To accomplish this difficult feat, many great teachers use humor.
Humor? Is that all it takes?
Well …
In many cases, yes.
Humor, it turns out, (which can be verbal or situational as Zizek makes clear in the video above) is a core ingredient in the magic spells these soothing muses of hardcore information use to slide information into your mind without you noticing.
That's right. You really can learn almost on autopilot.
An Aspirin For The Aches And Pains Of Education?
Humor, and those humorous teachers who deploy it, use their special talent with jokes to manipulate your brain's "opioid reward system."
Rest assured:
This painkiller for information is super-important for the future of humanity.
Why am I being so dramatic?
I'm glad you asked.
As Oakley explains, merely thinking about learning something difficult activates one of the pain centers in your brain.
Nothing like Christian Bök's pleasant flurry of "motorized razors" (another professor who uses humor to great effect):
But you get the idea.
Your brain anticipates the pain and tries to run away shrieking.
That part of the brain so opposed to learning?
It's called the insular cortex. Even this biological term itself sounds scary, doesn't it?
Well …
This Term Should Sound Scary!
But here's the thing:
Oakley has good news for you and your insular cortex on every page of Mindshift. And the best part is that you don't need every teacher to be a comic to learn even the most difficult topics without fear and suffering.
Mindshift is designed to help you figure out what you want to learn and how to get yourself take the steps needed to succeed. Using stories, activities and factual data about how your brain works, you'll walk away from reading Mindshift equipped to anticipate and remove all obstacles you could possibly face on your way.
All you need to do is understand a few key "time travel" secrets …
Time Travel Secret #1: Your Past Is A Treasure Trove Of Transformation
One of the most exciting aspects of Mindshift is the lesson that nothing in your past is a waste.
In fact, much of your potential for future success as a learner and eventual leader in a field of your choosing lies in what you've already done. You need only know how to tap into it.
As Oakley demonstrates throughout the book, traditional ideas about expertise are outmoded. But here's the beautiful news:
We are all unusually equipped for the requirements of the 21st century where several areas of "deep knowledge" separate the cream from the crop.
And if you're a scholar, a lot of what you know can help you escape the Ivory Tower and have an impacting career
Published on 8 years, 6 months ago
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