Dear Improvement,
They say that, after the third language, it gets much easier to learn new languages. I'm not exactly sure what the science is behind that, but it sounds reasonable. I figure it has something to do with the brain sort of re-wiring itself to better differentiate between sounds and cross-translate and memorize meanings. I am currently nearly-fluent (with some rust) in two languages (English and Swahili) and competent in another (Spanish). As I begin to learn my fourth language (Chinese), I can see how this little theory may hold water. And it's pretty exciting. Six lessons and about two weeks later, I am already seeing a lot of you in my understanding and speaking. A long way to go, of course, but it's a start.
But I am starting to believe that this little rule doesn't just hold to languages. Sure, learning languages obviously uses specific parts of the brain, and with extended practice, those parts of the brain must get more efficient. But recent you in various other skills makes me believe that's not all.
Now, my Loyal Reader must be aware by now that I have been practicing my drawing a lot lately. And with that practice, I have seen consistent you in my abilities. At the same time, I have also been rehabbing my knee, which has brought me a different kind of you in a physical way. Add to that learning a new language and some of my other hobbies that I have been known to work on from time to time (including music, teaching/math, and writing), and there has been all sorts of you in my life in the last few months. A ton of it. A lot of Practice tends to make that happen (as I continually state in my letters).
That's all fine and dandy. Obviously, the more I work on any particular skill, the better I will get at it, to some degree. That's not interesting or new to anybody. But what happened to me today was, and it is related to the rule of language with which I began this letter.
After all this talk (and writing) about yo-yos, I got inspired and decided to break out my juggling balls today. Now, I haven't even touched these guys since last summer, so I figured I would be a bit rusty, and I went into my playtime ready for that. But I wasn't. At all. In fact, I was just as good (possibly BETTER) than I had been the last time I was juggling consistently (which was about four years ago). I was certainly better than the last time I had played with my juggling balls.
This made me think: what if practicing various skills that rely on focus and vision (specifically, drawing) can contribute to you in focus and vision IN GENERAL, and not just in the specific skill? In other words, what if my recent improved focus, dexterity, and vision (in seeing a figure artistically) in drawing was generalizable to other areas? Yes, you in those three areas have made me a better drawer, but could they have made me a better juggler? Crazy, stupid thought, really - but what if?
So I decided to test it out. Was I really better at juggling or just better than I had EXPECTED to be after a long lay-off? I grabbed a fourth ball and started juggling and - I kid you not - I had smoother transitions and kept the balls up longer than I ever had before, by a long shot. I hadn't become a perfect four-ball juggler, but there was obvious you. I was a better juggler without having practiced AT ALL for a year.
And so I am left with this conclusion: that you in one area can actually yield you in a more or less unrelated area. Some of the basic skills are the same, of course, but certainly not ALL of them, and I don't know too many people that would say drawing and juggling are anywhere near the same thing. All I can come up with is a parallel with language-acquisition - the more skills you build up, the easier it is to learn - and see you in - other skills. Seems like an interesting, testable hypothesis to me. Anybody out there want to follow it up?
Of course, I know that there are a lot of variables involved and a lot of other possible explanations. Nonetheless, it's an intriguing prospect, and I think I'm just going to go with it for now. I shall continually add to my skill list, so that it will be easier to continually add to my skill list. Sounds good, no? With a little bit of luck, I still have another 50-plus years to go, which means that I could get in another three or four languages and another ten or so random skills. And if my theory is correct, and it just gets easier, I could get even more.
That's the goal. Totally unrealistic and ridiculous, but I don't really care. Not to mention that the world is going to end in 2012, anyway, so I really only have five years left.
So there you have it, Improvement - I am planning on seeing a ton of you through the rest of my life (no matter the length). And if my little theory is correct, then we're just going to see more and more of each other as time goes on. Wouldn't that be nice? You always make me feel good when I see you, so that sounds quite wonderful, indeed. Thanks for hanging out with me so much lately.
I'll see you tomorrow.
A Better Yo-Yo-ist?
CVT
2 comments:
Yeah I'm not so sure about your theory on this one. I noticed something similar months ago when I had quit playing Guitar Hero out of frustration in not being able to even complete 25% of any of the final three songs. So I quit cold turkey and then, for no good reason, picked it up again probably three months later.
With no warm-up I breezed right through all three songs in a row and beat the game.
Then I slowly got bad again.
Since Guitar Hero and juggling are of the same activity type (hand/eye association), I would posit that when you do them for long enough (or maybe when you cross an imaginary threshold of TOO long), you cross wires in your brain and stop improving. You start overthinking. But when you start again after a long layoff, you don't carry with you the emotional baggage of your previous frustrations, or the physical baggage of your confused muscle fibers. You just relax, and your natural skills come right back in their purest form.
That's my theory at least, because I wasn't doing anything remotely useful during my break.
Hmmm . . . your theory makes a lot more sense. But then that ruins all the fun for me, so I will have to renounce it.
Your case could also be attributed to neuronal pathways. While you're learning a physical skill, your brain begins to create more direct pathways from your neurons to the necessary parts of the brain to process your physical movements (more or less). When these are in place, the communication between your brain and muscles is more efficient, making the desired skills easier to do (and usually faster). The more you practice, the more you tell your brain to spend time reinforcing those pathways, and the better you get.
However, it takes some time for those pathways to develop, so if you're practicing a ton at something you're already good at, you reach your plateau, where it seems like you're just not getting better. Taking time off and then picking up again gives your brain some time to get those pathways more developed for the next time.
I think that's what happened to you. The same could be said for my juggling, but I think a year off would cause your brain to cut down the original pathway a bit. Maybe not.
How's that sound?
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