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Concept: Learning

1. The Snapshot​

The process of acquiring knowledge and skills and having them readily available from memory to solve future problems through a durable change in the brain.

2. The Description​

Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge and skills and having them readily available from memory so you can make sense of and solve future problems. For learning to be useful, it must result in a Durable Change—a physical reorganization of neural pathways that ensures the knowledge sticks over time rather than being "written in sand."

3. Author Quotes​

"His ability to work himself out of a jam illustrates what we mean in this book when we talk about learning: we mean acquiring knowledge and skills and having them readily available from memory so you can make sense of future problems and opportunities." (p. 2) "Learning is deeper and more durable when it’s effortful. Learning that’s easy is like writing in sand, here today and gone tomorrow." (p. 3)

4. Defining Features​

  • Retrieval Capability: True learning is measured by what you can pull out of your head when the "oil pressure drops."
  • Durable Change: The knowledge survives the "forgetting curve" through neural consolidation.
  • Available from Memory: If you have to look it up in a manual while the engine is failing, it isn't learned yet.
  • Acquired Skill: Your capacity to learn is not fixed; it improves with better strategies.

5. The Boundary​

  • It is NOT passive exposure: Simply reading about how to land a plane is not learning; being able to land it without a checklist while an engine is out IS learning.
  • It is NOT just information storage: Learning is about the availability and application of that information.

6. The Prototype​

Matt Brown (pilot), who retrieved memorized engine tolerances and emergency procedures from memory while flying through the night with a failing engine (p. 1-2).

7. Helpful Info​

The authors argue that the most effective strategies (like retrieval) are counter-intuitive because they feel slower and less productive, yet they are the only ones that produce the "durable" learning defined here.

8. The Swap Test​

"To ensure true Learning and avoid the Illusion of Mastery, we must make our study sessions more Effortful."

9. Source Reference​

make_it_stick/pages/page_017.txt

🧠 Pedagogical Tracking​

MilestoneStatusDateLesson RefNotes
Introduced in Lesson✅2026-01-28Lesson 01Initial Study
Active Recall #1⚪
1-Day Review⚪
1-Week Review⚪
1-Month Review⚪