The Eight-Five Percent Rule 85%

The Eight-Five Percent Rule Researchers have long understood the general principle: We learn best when we teeter on the "edge of our competence." If a challenge is too difficult, we become discouraged and give up. If it'is too easy, we become complacent and stagnate. But where exactly is this sweet spot? In a new paper in Nature Communications, a team of psychologists, linguists, and neuroscientists has produced an early answer. They discovered that learning progresses most quickly when our error rate is about 15 percent. In other words, when we're practicing something new (a language, a musical instrument, a swimming stroke), we learn the most when we get it right about 85 percent of the time. So, the next time you're drilling yourself in le subjonctif in French or practicing an Edward Elgar piece on the bassoon, pay attention to how you're doing. If you're messing up every sixth or seventh verb, or bungling about 15 percent of the notes, you're doing it right!  ***

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