Well I was about to do one last post on cognitive
limits, but then I found this and figured that I'll just base the
post on this article. This way you can hear someone else arguing
the point. My thoughts on this article are down below.
First, I agree with most everything. There were a bunch of segments that I found funny because they were very similar to things I've mentioned previously. Here's one:
There's 5 points, but I feel like there's only one concept. Even in the case of cognitive abilities, you improve by making yourself able to do things that you were previously unable to do (so, things that are hard for you). I would go so far as to say that you could define improvement in that manner if you wanted to. How do you make yourself able to do things that you were previously unable to do? You try to do them until you become able to do them. So I'd say the first 4 points are almost the same thing because they come from this concept. You do new things that challenge you. Seeking novelty? That's looking for something new that challenges you. Challenge yourself? Well that's included in the one concept I said, doing new things that challenge you. Thinking creatively? That's challenging yourself to think in a new way about something. Doing things the hard way? Well that's also challenging yourself. Basically, I'm saying there's not much need to split these into 4 points, other than because it seems more interesting to the reader.
Now you're saying, "Well what about that 5th point..?" to which I say that I don't entirely agree with it. Here's (part of) what it said about networking: "By networking with other people... you are exposing yourself to the kinds of situations that are going to make objectives 1-4 much easier to achieve. By exposing yourself to new people, ideas, and environments, you are opening yourself up to new opportunities for cognitive growth." I feel like this point is giving a way to go about accomplishing the point of doing new things that challenge you. There's certainly nothing wrong with it, and there are surely plenty of benefits to it, but I don't think it is the only way. And what about doing things the hard way? In this case, it would be a challenge to, by yourself, create the new ideas that go against your own ideas.
Which is, of course, what I try to do. It's something that's hard to do though. Terrifically hard. A lot of it is due to the things that your personality allows you to easily see. Knowing this, I can do my best to come up with the kinds of views that other people would have, but, like I said, it's hard. Which is all good and well, but you can't know if you're right unless you hear what other people say. So, the comments section is always open. I don't think many people are very similar to me personality-wise, so there should be plenty of times where you'll see some argument I make and think, "Well it's not exactly wrong, but I don't entirely agree with it..," or "Something just feels a little off..." Maybe I should say, unless your personality is very much like mine, these points will eventually come up.
I have one more thing to mention about doing things the hard way. If I were to make a rule, I'd say that in general, if your goal is an end result, then it's best to do things the easy way, and if your goal is improvement in ability or skill, then it's best to do things the hard way. But don't take this statement as the one single rule to follow. Think about each individual situation. Think about it. Think about it. Think about it!
First, I agree with most everything. There were a bunch of segments that I found funny because they were very similar to things I've mentioned previously. Here's one:
"Once you master one of those cognitive activities in the brain-training game, you need to move on to the next challenging activity. Figure out how to play Sudoku? Great! Now move along to the next type of challenging game. There is research that supports this logic."They even singled out Sudoku too.
There's 5 points, but I feel like there's only one concept. Even in the case of cognitive abilities, you improve by making yourself able to do things that you were previously unable to do (so, things that are hard for you). I would go so far as to say that you could define improvement in that manner if you wanted to. How do you make yourself able to do things that you were previously unable to do? You try to do them until you become able to do them. So I'd say the first 4 points are almost the same thing because they come from this concept. You do new things that challenge you. Seeking novelty? That's looking for something new that challenges you. Challenge yourself? Well that's included in the one concept I said, doing new things that challenge you. Thinking creatively? That's challenging yourself to think in a new way about something. Doing things the hard way? Well that's also challenging yourself. Basically, I'm saying there's not much need to split these into 4 points, other than because it seems more interesting to the reader.
Now you're saying, "Well what about that 5th point..?" to which I say that I don't entirely agree with it. Here's (part of) what it said about networking: "By networking with other people... you are exposing yourself to the kinds of situations that are going to make objectives 1-4 much easier to achieve. By exposing yourself to new people, ideas, and environments, you are opening yourself up to new opportunities for cognitive growth." I feel like this point is giving a way to go about accomplishing the point of doing new things that challenge you. There's certainly nothing wrong with it, and there are surely plenty of benefits to it, but I don't think it is the only way. And what about doing things the hard way? In this case, it would be a challenge to, by yourself, create the new ideas that go against your own ideas.
Which is, of course, what I try to do. It's something that's hard to do though. Terrifically hard. A lot of it is due to the things that your personality allows you to easily see. Knowing this, I can do my best to come up with the kinds of views that other people would have, but, like I said, it's hard. Which is all good and well, but you can't know if you're right unless you hear what other people say. So, the comments section is always open. I don't think many people are very similar to me personality-wise, so there should be plenty of times where you'll see some argument I make and think, "Well it's not exactly wrong, but I don't entirely agree with it..," or "Something just feels a little off..." Maybe I should say, unless your personality is very much like mine, these points will eventually come up.
I have one more thing to mention about doing things the hard way. If I were to make a rule, I'd say that in general, if your goal is an end result, then it's best to do things the easy way, and if your goal is improvement in ability or skill, then it's best to do things the hard way. But don't take this statement as the one single rule to follow. Think about each individual situation. Think about it. Think about it. Think about it!
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