ALPHABETICAL BRAIN™ VOCABULARY HUMANIST FAMILY BRAIN STUDY SECTION 4 OF THE INTRODUCTION SECTION 4 WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO LEARN ABOUT THE 15 BRAIN FACTS IN THE FREE SAMPLE? The best way to use this website to make you smarter and give you a winning edge in making effective decisions is to combine the spaced-repetition technique of learning with the flash card method of memorization. When these two study strategies of focused self-directed learning are augmented by the new online technologies of the internet and computers and mobile devices, learning the new complex brain facts and ideas could not be simpler or easier. This combination of study strategies is a synergistic way to focus your attention and organize your brain study sessions. The flash card method of memorization requires repeated exposures to the brain facts, for a few seconds at first and then for a few minutes for each flash card. You may want to do a 20-30 minute study session to learn about 4 to 5 brain facts at a time, especially if you take advantage of the additional "More Details" links and the "Fact Finder" links that are available for each flash card brain fact. In the beginning, the length of the study sessions can be short, but can become longer as you notice rapid progress and see the direct relationship between the amount of time you spend studying and the effectiveness of each study session. This kind of self-directed learning is the easiest way to memorize anything new. The pattern of visual cues on the brain flash cards, including the words, diagrams, colors, and the unique format of the diagrams on both sides, can help you decode the brain information more efficiently in your visual cortex. Also the cues on the flash cards can help you remember the brain facts both in your working memory resources and in your long-term memory system better than any other study method. The 15 free brain flash cards are a preview of the final sequence of 100 brain facts, which you may want to learn later. Once you see how valuable each brain fact is, you will be able to infer from your brain study efforts, that the more you study, the more your thoughts can control your feelings and help you feel good all of the time! In addition, the new brain vocabulary words can be chunked together (categorized) in convenient combinations of your own choosing for easy adaptation to your own personal learning style. The specific memory codes (or acronyms) on the brain flash cards are linked to the brain definitions in order to condense complex meanings into easily remembered simple declarative statements. Then the brain facts are easy to recall later when they are triggered by the alphabetic memory code letters, which are already stored in your long-term memory system from your past experiences. A specific acronym (with a letter or letters) can help remind you of a specific memory of a brain fact, since the symbols are already stored in the neural pathways of your long-term memory system because of earlier memories containing those letters. Brain researchers have demonstrated that most memories are only partial facsimiles of the original experiences that were remembered, which they call "constructed memories." However, the acronyms you use for memorizing the brain facts can be mental anchors for the new brain ideas that associate all the brain facts into a meaningful whole in your long-term memory system. More details are presented in the other sections of the Seven Introduction Sections, the Humanist Brain Study Guide, and the Humanist Family Brain Survey segments that explain the humanist rationale that justifies the inclusion of each brain fact. For example, the Humanist Brain Study Guide explains how the memory techniques can be applied as memory boosters to enhance your natural memory consolidation system so the sequence of the 15 sample brain facts can be learned easily and quickly. Another important memory boosting technique is to keep a written record of your repeated exposures to the brain facts when you use the brain flash cards. There is a convenient free printable 30 Day Memorization Timetable Chart at the bottom of the Humanist Family Brain Survey on which you can record the amount of time you spend each day doing brain study. This simple memory technique can motivate you to spend more time actually transferring memory molecules of cognitive content from your working memory resources to your long-term memory system. When you use the Memorization Chart, you will be tracking your progress learning the new brain vocabulary. And you also will be learning how to use critical thinking and reading skills to determine the truth and usefulness of the new brain facts and ideas at the same time. Also recent research indicates that memorization happens faster when you are remembering answers to brief questions known as interrogatives. That is why the brain flash cards have a brief question on the front and a short answer, which is a concise declarative statement, on the back of each of the 15 brain flash cards. By reciting to yourself both the question and the answer repeatedly, you will be able to transfer the meanings of the brain facts and ideas to your long-term memory system faster than any other way. As you begin to understand how your several memory circuits function to link the interactive parts of your brain to your everyday experiences, you will be able to keep a calm anxiety-free sense of yourself as you use your reasoning skills to make better decisions over time. These experiences are not illusions since your self is the authentic ultimate fact of your existence! After you learn about a new brain fact, you will be able to easily convert the new tacit brain knowledge in your long-term memory system back into the conscious awareness of your working memory resources when you want to refresh your memory about a particular brain function. Later, when you think about a particular brain function, you will be able to selectively remember the related new brain facts and ideas by purposefully thinking about them and conjuring them up in your conscious working memory resources. You can create more rapid recall about the brain facts when you spend more time studying your brain and memorizing the names and functions of your brain's most consciously controllable functional systems. You need to learn the names of the parts and systems of your main brain functions so you will be able to describe them to yourself (and others) as you think about them in the appropriate scientific context so you can overcome anxieties and fears and maintain a comfortable emotional balance. When you use the new brain vocabulary to think about solutions to the problems of living, you will have many more positive possibilities to act decisively. Then you will know how to apply critical thinking and reading skills and be able to create effective strategies for using your brainpower wisely and for saving time as you achieve more meaningful results. WHY THIS MATTERS: The best way to learn about the new brain facts is to use the spaced-repetition technique of learning combined with the flash card method of memorization because this educational strategy works best to easily consolidate ideas in your long-term memory system. INSTANTLY GO TO: SECTION 5 OF THE INTRODUCTION OR RETURN TO: INDEX TO THE SEVEN SECTIONS OF THE INTRODUCTION OR RETURN TO: ALPHABETICAL BRAIN™ VOCABULARY WEBSITE INDEX