Re:Learning to Read in Your 30s Profoundly Transforms the Brain
by Wistar on Monday November 05, 2018 @05:11PM
(#18386446)
I wonder if learning to play music later in life has similar effects. I have read that music, if learned young in life — by age 12 or so, actually produces physical changes in the brain.
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Re:Learning to Read in Your 30s Profoundly Transforms the Brain
by criddell on Monday November 05, 2018 @05:22PM
(#18386535)
That's the first thing I wondered as well since I'm currently trying (and mostly failing) to learn how to play my guitar.
I also wonder what the limits to learning are. At some point, if I learn something new, does pushing that knowledge into my long-term store replace or weaken an existing memory?
Re:Learning to Read in Your 30s Profoundly Transforms the Brain
by Baeocystin on Monday November 05, 2018 @06:51PM
(#18387066)
I think of it as a time-decay function. There are only so many attentive, focused hours one can give during a day, and a memory only lasts so long before it decays from disuse. Some amount of area under this curve represents what a person can functionally retain. It isn't a fixed amount, as more connections between subjects tends to reinforce both, but there is a limit.