The Hook and Loop Mind

I often describe the way I remember things as "hook and loop", or a "Velcro mind". Over the years I have learned and unlearned so much as technology moves on, and this analogy goes some way to explaining how I am able to do this quite so effectively.

To start, I am sure everyone is familiar with hook and loop temporary fastening. Also known by its "Velcro" eponymous trademark. The non-sticky sticky fastening can attach something, then be pulled away and refastened to something else. It is "hook and loop" because that is exactly how it works - on one side it has an array of tiny flexible hooks, and on the other, fluffy side the fabric forms lots of loops. Put the two together, and the hooks hook into the loops until pulled enough to unhook the fabric.

So what's that got to do with minds and memory?

Imagine learning a host of concepts. Background ideas, principles and models that apply to  broad range of related subjects. Sometimes people call these "first principles" - certainly my old maths and physics teacher did. These are the "hooks". Tough to learn, but once you have them you will be using them again and again.

Now, generally with a subject you will have a bunch of details. These are the loops. Specific coding languages, nuances etc. They hang off the conceptual hooks. 

When you learn something you can rip away the existing details and stick your new specfics straight on to those hooks because the concepts behind it are the same ("first principles", remember. So fundamental that they apply to everything in a field of study).

So that's what I mean by a "Velcro Mind". The ability to hang new details off old-but-valid concepts. This approach allows you to quickly unlearn and relearn based on the environment or job. It might take a while to switch, but with practice this remove-and-replace of knowledge can be fairly rapid. You do need to keep the conceptual hooks up to date, but the rate of change is far slower than picking up, say, a new coding fad. The principles behind, say, good code structure, or how a transistor works generally don't change in a hurry!

But there is a superpower behind this approach to learning apart from speed of learning: Mix and match. You can selectively unhook detailed ideas and replace them with other detail...sometimes creating something new and useful. You might take certain specific patterns that a coding language follows, and apply them to something brand new where it has never been thought of before, for example. The combinations are endless!

Does this match with the way you learn new things? Let me know!