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!

 ***



Daniel Pink
3511 Idaho Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20016-4454

Add us to your address book


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe polygnosi@otenet.gr from this list.

 

Σχόλια

Δημοσίευση σχολίου

Δημοφιλείς αναρτήσεις από αυτό το ιστολόγιο

Received Pronunciation

Εικόνα
  Listen to the recording at  https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/received-pronunciation Article written by: Jonnie Robinson Themes: Diverse voices: varieties of English in the UK ,  Received Pronunciation Published: 24 Apr 2019 Variously referred to as the ‘Queen’s English’, ‘BBC English’ or ‘Oxford English’, Received Pronunciation, or RP for short, is the accent usually described as typically British. Find out more about its origins and its current status in the UK. RP: a social accent of English Received Pronunciation , or  RP  for short, is the instantly recognisable accent often described as ‘typically British’. Popular terms for this accent, such as ‘the Queen’s English’, ‘Oxford English’ or ‘BBC English’ are all a little misleading. The Queen, for instance, speaks an almost unique form of English, while the English we hear at Oxford University or on the BBC is no longer restricted to one type of accent. RP is an  accent , not a  dialect , since all RP speaker
Διαβάστε περισσότερα

Shocking Origins of Some Common Words

If you love language as I do, you will find the etymology of the following words fascinating. Bankrupt The Medici family, also known as the House of Medici, were the original mob bosses. They came to power through their success in commerce and banking in fifteenth-century Florence. Outside Lorenzo de Medici’s palace and every other wealthy Florentine, was a long bench where merchants sat and discussed financial business with their clients. These benches, called banco, later referred to the business themselves — what we call today “banks.” When merchants went out of business, they broke their benches to signify that they were banco rotto — literally meaning “broken bench.” Banco rotto evolved into the English word bankrupt. So if you ever see a broken bench outside your banker’s house, better get your money and run. Editor Writers are familiar with the term “kill your darlings” — the process of cutting precious words from your writing. But editors were advocating bloodshed well befor
Διαβάστε περισσότερα

How to Read a Dictionary Entry - Meriam Webster Dictionaries

Εικόνα
  Word Matters Podcast Episode 17: How to Read a Dictionary Entry How to Read a Dictionary Entry When you read a definition, what do you see? Is one meaning of a word more important than another? Who decides this, anyway? Join us for a deep dive into the myths and mysteries of the dictionary. Download the episode  here . Transcript (intro music – “Build Something Beautiful” by Tobias Voigt) (teaser clip) Peter Sokolowski: If you read an entry that has definitions in historical order, you're actually kind of reading the biography of the word. This is where it started. This is where it got its education. This is where it got married. (music break) Emily Brewster: Coming up on Word Matters, some dictionary demystification. I'm Emily Brewster, and Word Matters is produced by Merriam-Webster in collaboration with New England Public Media. On each episode, Merriam- Webster editors Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, Peter Sokolowski, and I explore some aspect of the English language, from the d
Διαβάστε περισσότερα