Optimizing Your Brain’s Intake Of Information.

An expert in any field is someone who has specially developed  filters of perception.  Many times, they carry out their activities  automatically and they themselves usually cannot explain how they tell the difference between important and  irrelevant information.   Most of us carry out countless everyday routines without even thinking twice about them.  But just try to explain to a child how to button his shirt or how to ride his bicycle with the training wheels off  and you will know that any skill, no matter how easy it looks, is difficult in the beginning.  A child will master these skills only after countless failures and attempts   Highly skilled doctors with years of experience are a perfect example.  They come to the same conclusion with their diagnosis based on their experiences and observation but often they cannot give details of how they come to their findings.  It is part intuition, part training and part knowledge.  Intuition comes from experience and the more years of experience a doctor has, the more skilled he becomes. 

In the same way, a car mechanic must have an expert knowledge of the inner workings of a car and it’s gears and engine.  With experience, he  can confirm what is wrong with an engine by the sound it makes.  A piano tuner’s ear  knows how much to tune a key so that a piano can produce a wonderful melody and the pianist, a masterful performance.   A pizza maker knows exactly what is the consistency of his dough before he even throws it in the air.    All of these individuals have specially trained senses.  Years of practice and learning from mistakes have made them the experts in their chosen profession.

With a bit of practice and an alert mind, you too can become an expert in  whatever subject that interests you.  Let’s say you want to attend a lecture at your local community college or library.  You can use what you will learn in this article to remember the information that will be presented to you.

Keep your goals and objectives in mind before the lecture starts.  During the lecture, note down any information which seems important to you.  When you’re unsure of what the speaker means or need an explanation for certain words or terms, ask a question as soon as possible.  Listen critically to the speaker.   When the lecture is over, endeavor to  read about the subject in order to deepen your knowledge.  If possible, put into practice what has been touched on in the lecture.  If the subject matter is about how to take better digital photographs, practice with your camera not more than a week after the lecture.  If the lecture is on how healthier living, find out if there are good recipes on healthy cooking from the books in the library or bookstores that are in line with the subject.

Make an effort to exchange ideas and impressions with other people, seek other sources of information about the subject that you’ve just learnt to deepen your knowledge.  You may be surprised how someone who did not listen to the lecture may have a different view of the subject.  This will give you a chance to gather new experiences or other opinions.   Naturally, your motives and goals will change in the course of your journey through the world of knowledge.  All these actions will form mental tags that will adhere to the new found information and will continue to boost your enthusiasm and memory of the new subject.