Today, a lesson in apparent contradictions, and relearned lessons:
First up is a study exploring the importance of activity to human health. Their goal wasn’t to prove that activity is essential (Spoiler alert: not moving around a lot in a day is bad for your health), but to figure out why.
To do this researchers at the University of Missouri had to convince lots of healthy people to live unhealthy lives (for a given period of time).
Personally, I want to know where they found these healthy, but willing to be unhealthy people and how much they paid them.
Meanwhile over in California, we have a study looking in to the way we learn–by action or observation? Turns out we learn both ways.
I should hope so. Otherwise generations of children have wasted a lot of time learning to sit and listen, and nothing else, except maybe pass notes without getting caught. Although I suppose today they would be texting without getting caught…progress.
Of course, getting back to the point, it’s not as simple as watching, learning, then doing.
To put it simply: this does not mean that you can learn to be a ballerina from the comfort of your own couch, because if we learned nothing else from the preceding study (other than everyone has a price) it’s that sitting on your couch is bad for your health, but it is (according to the current study) good for your learning process.
Is your head spinning?
The point is (or should be) everyone learns differently and at their own speeds (another valuable grade school lesson), much like everyone moves at their own speed, but move they must, even if it will inhibit their learning style. It’s good for you, so in the immortal words of Nike–Just do it.
Personally, I want someone to do a study on how many times we have to do a study on a topic before we accept the results as a viable observation of the subject which was being researched.
…I think that about covers it.
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“Why It’s So Important to Keep Moving”: NYTimes
“Couch Potatoes Rejoice! Learning Can Be Passive”: TIME
…bi-daily smile…
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