1. How much should we practice? by Jonah Lehrer - ” We spend a
lot of time trying to improve our perceptions on very particular
tasks, whether it’s a jet fighter pilot learning how to fly or a
baseball player learning to hit a fastball or child with
dyslexia learning how to read. Although we currently assume that
the only way to improve is to constantly practice – in technical
speak, the act of practicing provides a “permissive signal” that
allows the accompanying stimulation to “drive learning” – this
research demonstrates that we can also improve through mere
exposure. Furthermore, our obsession with practice comes with
serious drawbacks, since the tedium of practice can prove
discouraging for beginners. And so we quit the piano and give up
on our reading lessons, because we can’t stand the training
regimen. This doesn’t mean, of course, that we can just play Yo
Yo Ma in the background and expect to master the cello, or put
the textbook underneath the pillow and expect to ace the algebra
test. We still need