Mindshift by Barbara Oakley

Author:Barbara Oakley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2017-03-31T12:43:09+00:00

Key Mindshift

Comfort Zones and Synaptic Reserve

Day-to-day activities as simple as talking, knitting, or shooting hoops keep us in mental as well as physical shape by retaining abilities we already have. But when we go a bit beyond our familiar comfort zone by learning something that challenges us, it helps build a synaptic reserve. This reserve is increasingly important as you age.

Learning and Changing at Any Age

Just as Terry surmised, there have been few major advances in his former area of physics in the last decades, and exorbitant equipment costs have played a role. Many of Terry’s friends who did go into particle physics ended up looking for jobs in other fields.38 The allure of a seemingly hot area, the “sheeple” mentality, and lack of knowledge about limited opportunities are phenomena that arise in many careers and vocations. In any academic discipline there can be a lemming mentality, with professors encouraging students to major in their particular specialty even if the job prospects are dim and tuition costs are stratospheric. Students look to one another, thinking, Hey, professors wouldn’t be so encouraging if it was a bad idea.

Despite the fact that he was at the pinnacle of prestigious physics studies at Princeton, Terry Sejnowski used common sense to step back, assess, reevaluate, and make a reasoned bet that a career change was in order. This was despite the fact that such a change would be difficult, and that at the time, few were making it. In the final analysis, the benefit from Terry’s willingness to risk his career and head where he felt he could make the greatest scientific and social impact has been enormous.

Among many other areas of research, Terry Sejnowski has worked to reveal the importance of exercise in cognition and learning. He makes a point of incorporating exercise into his daily routines, wherever he might be. Here he enjoys a break at the Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada.

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