Page 59 - A Mind For Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science

The octopus of your focused attention (left) reaches out through the four slots of your working
memory to deliberately connect the neural bumpers of your tightly focused brain. The diffuse
mode (right) has its bumpers spread farther apart. This mode consists of a wild and crazy
hodgepodge of potential connections.

The best language programs—such as those at the Defense Language
Institute, where I learned Russian—incorporate structured practice that includes
plenty of repetition and rote, focused-mode learning of the language, along with
more diffuse-like free speech with native speakers. The goal is to embed the
basic words and patterns so you can speak as freely and creatively in your new
language as you do in English. 3

Focused practice and repetition—the creation of memory traces—are also at
the heart of an impeccably played golf stroke, a master chef’s practiced flip of an
omelet, or a basketball free throw. In dance, it’s a long way from a toddler’s
clumsy pirouette to the choreographed grace of a professional dancer. But that
path to expertise is built bit by bit. Small memorized free spins, heel turns, and
kicks become incorporated into larger, more creative interpretations.