Page 204 - A Mind For Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science

—Paul Blowers, University Distinguished Professor (for extraordinary teaching),
University of Arizona

SUMMING IT UP

The focused mode can allow you to make critical errors even though
you feel confident you’ve done everything correctly. Rechecking your
work can allow you to get a broader perspective on it, using slightly
different neural processes that can allow you to catch blunders.
Working with others who aren’t afraid to disagree can:
Help you catch errors in your thinking.
Make it easier for you to think on your feet and react well in

stressful situations.
Improve your learning by ensuring that you really understand
what you are explaining to others and reinforcing what you
know.
Build important career connections and help steer you toward
better choices.

Criticism in your studies, whether you are giving or receiving it,
shouldn’t be taken as being about you. It’s about what you are trying
to understand.
It is easiest of all to fool yourself.

PAUSE AND RECALL

Close the book and look away. What were the main ideas of this
chapter? Try recalling some of these ideas when you are around
friends—it will also help your friends to know how valuable their
interactions with you actually are!

ENHANCE YOUR LEARNING