Absent-Minded Learning Yields No Gain

ScottYoung
We can only keep a few things in mind at any one time. George Miller initially pegged the number at seven, plus or minus two items. But more recent work has suggested the number is closer to four things.

我们在同一时间只能记住几件事。乔治·弥勒最初把这个数字定为7±2件，但最新的研究表明，这个数字更接近4件。

This incredibly narrow space is the bottleneck through which all learning, every idea, memory and experience must flow if it is going to become a part of our long-term experience. Subliminal learning doesn’t work. If you aren’t paying attention, you’re not learning.

所有的学习，每一个想法、记忆和经验，都必须经过这个难以置信的狭窄瓶颈，才能成为我们长期经验的一部分。潜意识的学习不起作用，如果你没有集中注意，就没有在学习。

The primary way we can be more efficient with learning is to ensure the things that flow through the bottleneck are useful. Devoting bandwidth to irrelevant elements may slow us down.

提高学习效率最主要的方法是确保从瓶颈流过的东西是有用的，将带宽用于无关内容可能会拖慢我们的速度。

Since the 1980s, cognitive load theory has been used to explain how interventions optimize (or limit) learning based on our limited mental bandwidth. This research finds:

从1980年代起，认知负荷理论一直被用来解释干预如何根据我们有限的思维带宽来优化（或限制）学习。这项研究发现：
宽来优化（或限制）学习。这项研究发现：

Problem solving may be counterproductive for beginners. Novices do better when shown worked examples (solutions) instead.

对于初学者来说，解决问题可能适得其反。如果向新手展示工作实例（解决方案），他们的学习效果会更好。

Materials should be designed to avoid needing to flip between pages or parts of a diagram to understand the material.

教材的设计应避免要在页面或图表的各部分之间翻来翻去才能理解。

Redundant information impedes learning.

冗余信息会妨碍学习。

Complex ideas can be learned more easily when presented first in parts.

复杂概念如果先分部分介绍，会更容易理解。