Old Dog, New Tricks?

“Traditionally, scientists have assumed that people gain new skills through practice—that is, through direct experience—but the existence of mirror neurons means you can also gain skills through observation and indirect experience.”

— Roderick Gilkey and Clint Kilts

I can totally agree with this research. I spent most of my life practicing over and over whatever I wanted to learn. Most of the time my practice would result in proficiency of the skill. I’m not one that learns from observation because I’m an extrovert and just love interacting with people to learn new things.

I really learned this observational truth while parenting my daughter and now son, Roman. He is an introvert. As I parented him, I witnessed him over and over again learning a new skill through observation. It really blew my mind and biases regarding learning.

So, when he was a grade schooler, he was signed up for a summer sports camp that would teach the kids various sports. Each day was about three hours long. When I dropped him off for the next day, one of the instructors said, “you might be wasting money because all he did yesterday was sit on the sidelines and watch.”

I assured them that he’d probably be fully engaged and possibly be one of the leaders of the other kids. When I picked him up the next day, the instructor met me to share he looked like a completely different kid than the one attending yesterday. I remember them being totally shocked.

Even at our “mature age” we can be learning if something challenges our brain. I continue to learn piano and try to instill some motor memory. I’m not very good and it’s not a skill that I would show in public. Yet, I stubbornly keep practicing because I know it’s good for my brain to be challenged. It’s good for my finger and brain coordination. So, how about you? Do you learn from repeat practice or observation or a little bit of both? What’s challenging you today? What are you learning or relearning? 

💕Lynn