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Inspiration
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It’s the other way round with positive emotions. They ensure
particularly quick learning. If learning is fun, happy hormones
are released. They make learning a pleasant experience
because we are positively surprised by ourselves when learning.
Anybody who learns with pleasure likes learning and can
use what’s been learnt more easily for creative purposes.
The key words are grey cells. Is it really true that learning
capacity decreases with age?
Spitzer:
Yes, and to an even greater extent than it says in most
text books. The rate at which synapses change drops from
100% in childhood to 10% at the age of 20 – a really substantial
drop. But this is not a drawback. In terms of development, at the
beginning our brain has to make very big learning steps very
quickly so that we can survive. But it takes time and many
small learning steps to adapt properly to external conditions.
That’s why it’s normal that older people learn more slowly. And
another interesting thing: anyone who knows a lot can continue
to learn until an advanced age because knowledge structures
have already been created in the brain and the new knowledge
can easily latch on to them. Anyone who already speaks six
languages doesn’t have to change all the synapses if he learns
a new one. And so you can see that our brain works like
a paradoxical shoe box: the more there is in it the more can
be fitted in.
What does a very busy man like you do in his free time?
Spitzer:
Tonight, for example, I’m rehearsing with the band
in which I play mainly drums – not well, but I like it. We put
on a show from time to time. If you enter “Braintertainers”
on YouTube you can see what sort of music we play. I also go
jogging regularly. And once a week I bake my own bread. I have a
mill and grind the corn. And then there are my six children so I’m
never bored.
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