For the current education, we can borrow Dickens's famous saying, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." The good thing is that almost all countries and people attach unprecedented importance to the education of future generations. The bad thing is that the mention of education makes everyone instantly anxious. Especially in China, South Korea, and Japan, education is misinterpreted as the purpose of getting into college, which makes people want to go crazy, but they don’t know where to start.

Ever since, whenever a top student who got into Qingbei University released his notes, study methods or exam tips, it would go viral, causing parents to fill up their favorites. , can barely quench the thirst of anxiety. In recent years, the country has put the brakes on the "involution" education situation. People seem to have gradually understood that learning knowledge in school and passing exams are only one aspect or stage of learning and education.

However, it is one thing to correctly understand the nature of education. After all, children still need school education, and the best way for schools to evaluate children's acceptance is through examinations. I have to come back, is there a "more humane" and more universal learning method that can make children suffer less torture in exams? Is there a scientific strategy that allows people to continue their studies or enter the workplace? , can you still pass every exam?

The answer is yes. The book I want to share with you today - "Examination Brain Science: Efficient Memory Methods in Brain Science" - is a popular science book that specifically explores how the brain remembers and how to take exams. And what must be said is: the author of this book is not only an academic master who was admitted to the University of Tokyo (Japan's "Beijing University"), but also a professional researcher on the learning and memory mechanism of the human brain.

So, before interpreting this book, let us first get to know the author.

Yuji lkegaya was born in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, in 1970. In 1998, he obtained a doctorate in pharmacy from the University of Tokyo based on his research results on the "hippocampus" of the brain. He is currently a professor at the Department of Pharmacy, University of Tokyo. Professor in the Graduate School, specializing in brain science research.

Since 2002, he has been a visiting researcher at Columbia University in the United States, specializing in neuroscience and pharmacology. His research field is the plasticity of the human brain hippocampus and cerebral cortex. He is also the director of the Japanese Brain Information and Communication Convergence Research Center (CiNET). ) Research director, academic reviewer of the Japanese Pharmacological Society, and leader of the ERATO human brain and AI integration project. For his outstanding contributions in the field of brain science, he won Japan's "Young Scientist Award" and "Bachelor Academy Academic Award."

Dr. Ikeda is not an old scholar who only engages in scientific research. He is very good at using popular language to popularize the latest results of brain science research. He is the author of "Hippocampal Memory Method" and "The Overevolved Brain" , "Brain's Defense", "Simple Brain, Complex "I"", "Brain's Wonderful Hobby", etc., have many readers in Japan.

Today's book "Examination Brain Science" is derived from a best-selling book he wrote for high school students in 2002 called "High School Students Studying Methods". The content is not only targeted at the college entrance examination, but also extended to society. various qualification examinations.

The main reason is that the human brain is not good at memory, especially long-term and accurate memory. The key to the exam is nothing more than memorizing enough and accurate knowledge and being able to accurately output it on the paper in the exam room. It sounds simple, but everyone who has taken the exam knows that it is easier said than done. Because the human brain is not designed for "irrelevant" and "anti-human" things like exams, but for survival and reproduction.

The human brain is the product of 200 million (200,000,000) years of natural evolution. However, it takes only 2,000 years to learn to memorize knowledge accurately for a long time and take exams.

The part of the brain responsible for long-term memory is the "cerebral cortex", but if you think that the key to memory is the cerebral cortex, you are wrong. Because the part that really affects human memory processing and storage is the humble "hippocampus" - it is responsible for judging which information is worth remembering.

The hippocampus will tell us that we must remember that there is a moving object with a triangular head. Even if it is just a rope, we should first think of it as a snake; do not think of the brightly colored "red umbrella with white pole" Go eat together; the girl wearing a bikini on the beach is worth a few more glances to deepen your impression.

On the contrary, what did Zi once say? Did the Ottoman Empire capture Constantinople in 1453? Are the teeth in the character Ya on the left or on the right? None of these are worth mentioning, because they have nothing to do with survival and reproduction.

What to do? The answer is: Make peace with the "hippocampus" and make good use of this "introducer" of long-term memory.

The memory mechanism of the brain is divided into two types: short-term memory and long-term memory. Short-term memory is like a computer's cache RAM. It has a small capacity, a short storage time, and is forgotten after use. What is needed for exams is long-term memory.

Think back to the time when you memorized the words: abandon, abandon, abandon..., you remembered it, but two days later you found that you had forgotten it, so you opened the dictionary again, and you said, abandon..., but you still couldn't remember it before the exam. Qing, just "abandon" completely. Our hippocampus will ask: "Do you remember what this is? Is it delicious? It's not delicious, forget it, I'm too lazy to send it to the cerebral cortex for you."

So how can we make the hippocampus What if the body obeys obediently? The author gives a way: repeat. When you see this answer, you may be very disappointed. A seemingly academic and professional researcher actually used the same method as I used to memorize abandon.

Yes, it is indeed repetition that allows us to remember knowledge points for a long time, but of course it is not the repetition of rote memorization. There are methods for academic masters.

The author provides us with 4 ways to improve long-term memory.

1. Excite "theta wave". “Theta waves” are brain waves produced when we are curious. Research shows that "theta waves" can effectively stimulate the hippocampus and convert short-term memory into long-term memory with great efficiency. This is why it is said: "Interest is the best teacher."

2. Mobilize the "amygdala". The amygdala is our "emotional engine". It controls our fear, joy, sadness, anxiety and many other emotions. The author's research tells us that when emotions are high, memory is stronger. No matter how bad your memory is, you will still remember a few heart-pounding moments.

3. Top students study when they sleep. This is not a joke, it is backed by science. In fact, when we sleep, the hippocampus is actively sorting out the knowledge we have learned. If we don’t sleep well, our hippocampus will not have time to complete its work, so the information you have studied hard all night will be absorbed by the hippocampus. Discarded ruthlessly.

4. Integrate learning with biological rhythms. Exams are usually held during the day, so try to keep your brain active during the day. At the same time, because long-term memory requires the hippocampus to be organized during sleep, the author recommends memorizing words or memorizing knowledge points before going to bed.

Our brains are not only bad at memorizing knowledge for long periods of time, but also cannot memorize knowledge accurately. Therefore, on the one hand, we need to use the method in the previous part to strengthen long-term memory, and we also need to improve the accuracy of memory.

From the most recent biological origin, our brains evolved from mammals. Our brains are designed to vaguely remember the general outline of things, which makes it easier for us to remember. More dangerous situations make it easier for us to try new and similar things. Through experimental comparisons between puppies and computers, the author concludes that the fuzziness of human memory is the secret weapon that allows us to reproduce to this day.

The human neural circuit is not a cable. Between neurons, we need "neural synapses" as information "transfer stations". This kind of transfer will make the information "blurred". So how to improve the accuracy of memory?

The author taught us many methods, and I selected 3 of them:

1. "Association".

We can easily remember memories related to our experiences, so we need to combine knowledge with experience, or associate new knowledge with existing knowledge, or make knowledge vivid and enriched through imagination, the author introduces Using methods such as "experience memory" and "homophonic memory", these "associations" can help us refine knowledge.

2. "Knowledge output". We can try to explain the knowledge we have learned to others. This output process can greatly help us master the knowledge we have learned before. Similarly, the book review I am writing is also an output of reading, which is also helpful for me to grasp the content of this book. I have to mention that the exam is actually a very intense output process. It will force you to search for your memory, and complete the answer sheet as accurately as possible. Recall that a lot of knowledge is because you have to take the exam, or you have passed the exam. , you remember it more clearly, don’t you?

3. Adopt a "step-by-step approach". The author tells us through experiments with puppies that to clearly grasp knowledge, we must first divide knowledge into different steps/stages. When learning, we must find reference books and exercises that suit our own difficulty level and suit our own circumstances. We cannot think of becoming a top student all of a sudden. . Learning a subject requires perseverance. Taking appreciating oil paintings as an example, the author tells us that at first, everyone may not be able to distinguish between Renaissance and Baroque oil paintings, but after persistent study and study, they can distinguish between different schools. subtle differences between.

Ikeda Yuji, who graduated from the University of Tokyo, is an expert in studying the memory mechanism of the brain. He was nicknamed Dr. "Hippocampus" because of his outstanding research on the "hippocampus". His book "Examination Brain Science" tells us that the "hippocampus" in the brain is responsible for converting short-term memory into long-term memory. The human brain is not suitable for testing because it is not suitable for long-term memory and accurate memory.

The human brain has spent 200 million years avoiding dangers for our ancestors, constantly adapting to new environments, and looking for new opportunities, ensuring that this species can thrive to this day. 2000 years ago, humans began to use the "anti-human" method of exams to force themselves towards civilization. Since then, ancient sages and sages have been exploring the secrets of learning, and modern brain scientists have even found ways to deal with exams.

The author points out that we need to make full use of "theta waves", the amygdala, sleep and grasp biological rhythms to cooperate with the repeated input of knowledge, and ultimately mislead the hippocampus so that it is willing to convert knowledge into long-term memory. In addition, we also need to understand the full picture of knowledge and master the details of knowledge step by step, so that the memory can become accurate.