(U) Unlock The Mind

Welcome to day twenty-one on the Createyou86 May A-Z Blog Challenge.
  We are happening upon another Monday, and another full week of information.  Do you ever feel like your brain is not being used to its full potential?  Sometimes i feel like this, and sometimes i feel like i can't handle anymore information, and that my brain will explode.  Today's post is about unlocking the mind.  One secret that i have learned is that (please tell everyone!)

Your brain is not for storage.

Many people think that if they can just remember everything that everyone tells them that people will think that they are smart......However, one of the most amazing pieces of advice that i ever received was in a college psychology class from our professor, she said that: 

It has been scientifically proven that if you cram to review test information up to five minutes before the test, you most likely will not do any better because you have already retained the information previously that you will remember for the test.

That day in class there were several students who did not believe this information from the teacher. Therefore, she allowed the students who did not believe her to review any study papers that they had for 5 minutes before the test, and the rest of us just waited for the test to begin without studying. The students who did not cram for the five minutes actually did better on the test than the ones who did.  


BUT HOW?
Well your brain simply is not for storage!  According to Munsterberg's theory quoted by Leonard Mlodinow the author of the national bestseller Subliminal

None of us can retain in memory the vast quantity of details we are confronted with at any moment in our lives and that our memory mistakes have a common origin: they are all artifacts of the techniques our minds employ to fill in the inevitable gaps.  Those techniques include relying on our expectations and, more generally, on our belief systems and our prior knowledge.  As a result, when our expectations, beliefs, and prior knowledge are at odds with the actual events, our brains can be fooled.

In other words, when we overthink, and don't go with our gut (like our teacher tried to tell the class to do) our brain can misinterpret the information that is being fed to it.  So if you have read the information for the class, and studied what you think is a sufficient amount, then you should feel confident, follow your gut, and know that you have already retained the information that you need to pass the test!


Have you ever tried to cram right when you walk into a test?  How did it help your score?  Let us know in the comments below!


Be sure to check out Davishing Mundo and Fourxblessed on their blog challenge journey!  You can also follow the challenge on social media #CY86Blogchallenge.


Come back tomorrow for (V) Vision.