Slow learning

I am referring to the “Slow fight against rat race” article in the Sun Newspaper. AFPRelaxNews (2010). Slow is a concept that is gaining popularity in the world where everything is done “good, clean and fair” and so it began with food production in Italy. This concept was started by an Italian protesting the opening of a McDonald’s restaurant and since then it has spread to 130 countries. It now extends to all walks of live not just food, starting with slow cities, slow money, slow design, slow travel and even slow sex movements.

This caught my attention when it engulfed the software development world. The concept of slow software development caters to the reusability of code and implementing best practices in the design stages. This is a great concept for the old software development dogs like myself who have been working IT for more than 10 years. However, too few of us actually value the experience of an old dog. It was never taught in computer schools on how to write good slow programs because it was always about speed and while barely getting the requirements right. This has led to very messy and haphazard software development that required a lot testing and verification before usage. Although the testing methods have become every complex to address bad coding styles but the idea of relooking the development process itself was never an option.

Slow learning is simply a form of play that enriches ones thinking while letting our intellect lead the learning process. It is not for slow learners or the inability to learn at a normal pace. It is about taking the normal pace of learning to higher levels using the slow learning method. It is a process that takes the learner from one stage of understanding to another entirely by their own inquisitiveness. The rate of learning for everyone is fixed at a very young age. However, the quantity of learning is determined by the duration and with a fixed rate of learning, improvements can be achieved with persistence. The longer we spend learning, naturally we will learn more. But how do we learn more and while still maintaining the rate learning.   

Here is an example of slow learning. When I learned the 9 times table, I was very happy because I had memorized every possible multiple of 9 from 1 to 12. But I went blank when I had to tabulate 13 X 9 because it was outside my comfort zone. Not like most others, I did not run to the calculator. Instead I looked at the 9 times table again. My first observation was that each one of the multiple of 9 added up to 9.

E.g. 1

1)      2  X  9  =  18  =>  1  +  8  =  9

2)      3  X  9  =  27  =>  2  +  7  =  9

Was it by chance, no it was not; it was because I love the number 10. The easiest way to see how good or badly you are scoring is to measure how far away you are from 10 in exams. And each time I added the two numbers I always got 9 in the 9 times table. The rate of learning kicked in again moving me from the above example to the next level. As I went down the table even for the larger numbers when added the total sum of the multiple of 9 was still 9. This was a great discovery for me. These are the little moments in math that makes ones joy grow.

There was another number series unfolding, first it appeared as a blink of a possibility in my mind but then it became real when I actually saw it. At 10 years old the only number series I knew was 1 to 10 or backwards. Due to the love of the number 10 a sequence was unfolding because it was always a measure how well you were doing in any subject. Unknowingly I was writing numbers from 1 to 10 on one side and the reverse in the other side then adding it up.

E.g. 2

1)      3  X  9  =  27  =>  2  +  7  =  9

2)      4  X  9  =  36  =>  3  +  6  =  9

3)      5  X  9  =  45  =>  4  +  5  =  9

4)      6  X  9  =  54  =>  5  +  4  =  9

5)      7  X  9  =  63  =>  6  +  3  =  9

The joy of learning was elevated further with another discovery. Without any further a due I tabulated 13 X 9 with ease because it came after 108 (which is 12 X 8) and the answer was 117. See how it easy it was.

I had discovered a whole new world of numbers and I it became mine. Although there were scores of others that had seen this before but the joy of slow learning was so great that it gave me confidence. That I could solve even the toughest problems with slow learning.

I began to look at other numbers and saw some pattern or the other in each one of them. Then it quickly occurred to me that each number will have a different way of behaving because of how far they are from 10. I began to look at life and saw that they all have some pattern or the other and it all behaves differently. In the heart of it all is slow learning that allows us to make sense of the various patterns that we have around us.

The sages have always propounded slow learning in many forms and one of the greatest teachings is slow breathing in Yoga. It allows the body to enjoy more with few more pronounced breathing. Breathing with a rhythmic pattern with fixed duration creates  mind and body that is alert and sharp. So why not incorporate slow learning in our everyday live and activity.

References

1.       AFPRelaxNews (2010) – The Sun Newspaper December 28,2010 Pg. 15 – Slow Fight against the Rat Race