Skiing has been one of my latest sports to try, in spite of my fear of heights and my dislike of cold. Pure intrinsic motivation from my part 🙂
I took a day break after finishing chapter 3 of the Changing the Brain book, with the idea of a balance between the different parts of the brain that need to be stimulated for effective learning. This morning, as I started reading chapter 4, I had to smile as it delved into several topics I have been reading about recently. One had to do with the primitive survival mechanisms of the brain based on fear and pleasure. The example for the second was sugar, of which I learned recently a lot from the book Salt Sugar Fat by Michael Moss. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anybody interested in healthy eating and the role of big food corporations in contributing to the epidemic of obesity. The other topic was about extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation, which was much discussed as part of the Gamification MOOC I took some months ago. My positive view of the MOOCs is very much due to the excellent experience of taking that course.
But I am digressing. Zull winds his way in this chapter from the structures of the brain “in charge” of survival mechanisms, such as the limbic system for pleasure/fear, and the neocortex for more advanced mechanisms involving understanding and control. After describing the structures of the limbic system, particularly the amygdala, the site of “fear,” and the ‘septum,” of pleasure, he discusses how emotions can affect learning (positively or negatively). Note: Zull simplifies (on purpose) the description of brain areas and their associated functions, and I am not focusing too much on it either, so for a better description of these structures it is better to use a more detailed source. It all connects with the feeling of being in control of the learning process, which is more pronounced when the motivation is intrinsic (true interest, emotional connection) than extrinsic (rewards such as a high GPA). Movement (even anticipated or imaginary) bring pleasure to the learning process, leading to the idea that active learning is more engaging than passive learning. The chapter closes where it started, the idea that learning is a continuous process modulated by wants, needs, and emotions. and therefore it is our trade and art…paraphrasing de Montaigne, my trade and my art is living.
barralopolis 
Jun 12, 2013 @ 10:10:09
Love this post! (and skiing, but that’s another story) I roll paper 9-5 for a living (don’t ask) and have hours of downtime at my desk each day. As a consummate autodidact (something we apparently share), I’ve been fascinated watching where my learning motivations take me – carving back and forth between subjects and fields, some green circle easy, some double diamond technical and cognitively challenging… (oh wait I’ve slipped back into skiing again!).
A neural network of new information grows organically through this self-directed ‘this-interest-leads-to-this-curiousity-leads-to-this-idea’ method of learning. Only knowledge that grabs and holds my full attention (emotional/intellectual) is given value and therefore integrated into the network. Have you had a similar experience?
Jun 12, 2013 @ 14:14:16
Hey Cymbria thanks for the comment! Yes, the knowledge has to have something that grabs me, otherwise it is lost even after endless repetitions (still waiting for the spark to make me remember how to pump up the bike tires…). Compulsive reading and poaching for knowledge has made it easier for me, as I often find some kind of connection to make material relevant. On the other hand, there are ways also to “make” it relevant- I like to draw, so one way to remember boring information was to make it colorful and artistic. Your blog is very cool, by the way!