How to never forget anything you learn

Ever wondered why some knowledge profoundly shapes us, while other concepts simply fade out? The answer to this is within the workings of your own mind.

Learning isn't just acquiring information; it's a dynamic process that can fundamentally reshape your brain.

Every new skill, insight, or concept strengthens and forms fresh connections between your brain cells – this is what we call neuroplasticity.

The continuous, physical transformation means that with every genuine learning experience, your very brain changes.

Does that mean, we should start learning everything in our bucket list? Those piano lessons, baking classes, chess training, or that desire to become a medical doctor must seem like a great idea to execute at once.

It's tempting to think that every learning experience simply makes your brain "stronger." However, the reality is more nuanced.

Here are some ways which might help you learn efficiently-

1. Manage your cognitive load:

   
   

   Your brain's working memory is the mental workbench where new information is actively processed and it has a limited capacity. This is where the concept of cognitive load comes in. Learning efficiently isn't about indiscriminately "learning everything," but about managing the mental resources required to transform information into lasting knowledge.

   
   

   So the last minute cramming for that exam? Not a good idea. At least in the long turn.

   
   

   When cramming, you are pushing vast amounts of information into your limited working memory. This creates an extremely high cognitive load, especially extraneous cognitive load if the material isn't presented optimally. Your working memory becomes overwhelmed, making it difficult to process new information deeply enough for long-term storage.

Is that you the night before an exam?

2. Practice genuine learning:

   
   

   It involves transforming information into long-term memory traces. This process, especially memory consolidation, heavily relies on spaced practice and adequate sleep. Without repeated, spaced exposure and the "offline" processing that occurs during sleep, information remains fragile and highly susceptible to rapid forgetting.

   
   

   If you practice multitasking while studying or working, you should really consider putting a top to that habit. Flipping between a textbook, a practice paper, checking texts, and responding to chat messages all within a short timeframe is not saving time. Each new piece of information (a text, a new paragraph in the book) vies for your limited working memory, and the rapid context switching makes it difficult to deeply encode any single item, leading to interference between the different streams of information.

3. STOP flooding your brain:

   
   

   If you constantly throw new, often similar, information in a short span can lead to significant interference. Newer memories can overwrite or compete with older, weakly encoded ones, making both harder to retrieve. Think, social media content that you consume everyday.

   
   

   Social media feeds present a constant, rapid stream of diverse (but often thematically similar) information.

   
   

   The rapid pace and often short-form nature of social media content encourage quick scans rather than deep engagement. Your brain is constantly shifting focus, making it harder to process any single piece of information thoroughly enough for robust, long-term memory formation.

The big question- How to never forget anything you learn?

1. Research shows that slight difficulty while learning anything new may prove to be quite helpful in retaining information. Mildly "disfluent" material (e.g., slightly less readable fonts) can compel you to focus more intensely, preventing superficial processing and potentially leading to better learning outcomes, including recall.

   
   

2. Visually appealing elements, like warm colours or relatable anthropomorphic figures, can induce positive emotions that foster stronger cognitive engagement and aid memorisation, improving retention and transfer. (a perk of learning online!)

   

   See? no multitasking, pure concentration, and no multitasking.

3. Lets not forget the good old active recall. Just, ensure your study methods align with how you'll need to recall the information. For example, If you're studying anatomy and your test will require you to identify structures on realistic, detailed 3D models, then simply learning from simplified, schematic line drawings might not be enough. Your study method should align by using similarly realistic and detailed visualisations to practice identification, even if they initially seem to add more "extraneous load". This alignment ensures the cognitive effort you invest matches what's needed for recall.

So, ditch the cramming chaos and endless digital deluge. Your brain isn't a bottomless bucket; it's a finely-tuned engine for knowledge.

By understanding its quirks—and playing by its rules—you'll not only learn with surprising ease, but keep those hard-won insights for life. Go forth and learn, wisely!

References-

Skulmowski, A., Xu, K.M. Understanding Cognitive Load in Digital and Online Learning: a New Perspective on Extraneous Cognitive Load. Educ Psychol Rev 34, 171–196 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09624-7

Turrigiano G. Homeostatic synaptic plasticity: local and global mechanisms for stabilizing neuronal function. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2012 Jan 1;4(1):a005736. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a005736. PMID: 22086977; PMCID: PMC3249629. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3249629/