50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New

To find out more about the power of learning and how we can benefit from it, we reached out to Barbara Oakley, Ph.D., a professor of engineering at Oakland University in Rochester and author of Learn Like a Pro: Science-Based Tools to Become Better at Anything.

She had a question for you, dear readers. "Wouldn’t you like to be seen as the most creative (not to mention smartest) person in the room? It’s possible! How? By spending a little time each day with new learning!" 

Turns out, our "new knowledge serves as a sort of mental trellis that allows new neurons to survive, thrive, and grow." When we’re not eager to study, these "new neurons, instead of nestling into your neural lattice, will wither and die. And you can find yourself becoming less flexible in your thinking as you increasingly rely on older neurons," the professor explained. 

According to Oakley, it's wise to have a goal when you want to become better at educating yourself since it can help with the process. "You might set a goal of reading 20 pages a day of a book, which can amount to 15 books or more each year. And there are wonderful online courses on learning!" 

The educator mentioned that she herself teaches courses like Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects that can be beneficial in your journey. "You’ll see that many of these online courses are divided into 'chunks' of material that you can reasonably cover each week," she told us. "And you’ll get weekly reminder emails to help keep you on track." 

This is a great way to exercise our minds and get those brain cells going. So if you’re looking for some helpful lessons on the internet, Oakley said that Class Central has a wonderful listing of great online courses on online platforms.

The professor mentioned that virtually any kind of new learning helps keep our brains fresh. "Whether it’s a new language, bringing back your rusty math skills, improving your ability to code, or taking up a new sport." If you’re not sure where to begin, a great tip would be to start a daily habit of picking up a book and reading a certain number of pages.

"If you want to make your new learning 'stick' even better—and reduce mental fog—add some exercise to your life," Oakley continued. "Exercise helps produce a chemical, BDNF, that serves as a sort of fertilizer for newer and stronger neural connections in the brain. In other words, BDNF helps you focus and remember better!"

When asked whether the internet is a good tool for increasing our knowledge, she told us that it gives us incredible opportunities to learn from some of the best teachers in the world. "Athlete Julius Yego, for example, couldn’t find top javelin throwing coaches in his native Kenya and couldn’t afford to travel overseas to train," Oakley said. "So he started watching YouTube videos." Surprisingly, by watching tutorials online and practicing on his own, "he became the world champion in the javelin!"

Also, if you want to make new information stick in your brain, the professor said that the best way "is to use what psychologists call 'retrieval practice.'" She explained that this simply means retrieving information from your brain. "That is, checking to see if you’ve got that information stored inside you." 

To do that, you can try using flashcards or try taking a few practice tests. "Or simply look away from a page or webpage (like this one!) and see if you can retrieve (that is, remember) the key ideas. Like Julius Yego, through learning, retrieving, and practicing, you too can become a world champion—or at least the best person you can be," Oakley concluded.