Hello All,
if you’re interested in a bit of theory why Accelerated Learning might work, you’re invited to share this thread with me.
Short Introduction: I’ve mainly tried Feldenkrais, Paraliminals and ImageStreaming (including Putting On Heads, Borrowed Genius, Alternate Earths) as techniques/methods of Accelerated Learning. Currently, I’m working on my final thesis to get my diploma. The topic is e-learning, the theoretical base is Constructivism. And this afternoon, I made some interesting connections...
Constructivism: This theory emerged from findings in biology, neurology and from systems theory. It states that
a) we all construct our own reality,
b) we can only talk about this constructs, not about reality itself and
c) that a 1:1-learning is impossible because the learner has another construct of reality than the teacher/author/trainer.
d) Concerning learning, it states that all learning is biographical, meaning that you need some connection from your personal history/knowledge to the new learning.
e) New learnings aren’t built from scrap: When you learn something new, you re-construct your cognitive structures.
f) Furthermore, learning needs the “perception of differences”. These differences may (or may not, depending on your established cognitive structures and biography) disturb your cognitive structures, leading you to re-construct them.
g) Everyone has a personal “drift zone”, depending on and changing with situation and topic. This drift zone is where you can put your personal experiences/history and your cognitive structures to use, where you feel comfortable regarding the situation and topic at hand. [Perhaps a resemblance to the meaning of “comfort zone”?]
h) Learning is intention driven. The intentions of a learner and the intentions of a teacher don’t have to be the same, so success of teaching is even less guaranteed than (c) implies.
ImageStreaming: ImageStreaming leads to a more differentiated perception, enabling you to learn more/faster/better (f). How does ImageStreaming change your perception? Your sensory input stays the same and is more or less the same for everyone. What’s different are the cognitive structures processing the input. With ImageStreaming, you’re exercising yourself to perceive more and more differences, changing your cognitive structures.
How does Borrowed Genius work? With Borrowed Genius, you do not only exercise perceptional abilities, you also get to know another biography (d) from the inside and you simulate other cognitive structures (e)(f).
Why is Alternate Earths more effective than Borrowed Genius? Because you simulating an alternative biography of yourself. So, you have a stronger connection to your biography, to your drift zone (d)(g).
Paraliminals: The goal of Paraliminals is to change the cognitive structures, leading to new behaviours and perceptions. The content of the tape is more or less unspecific (within the boundaries of the give topic) and through your intention (h), you’re integrating this unspecific content into your cognitive structures in a way that connects with your biography, thus changing, re-constructing your cognitive structures. Through relaxation and the simultaneous, but different audio streams for each ear, your conscious barriers are lowered and/or bypassed.
Feldenkrais: Through the exercises, you’re lead to increase the differences in your kinaesthetic perception. The more differentiated perception leads you to change your cognitive structures, changing the way you move and perceive.
Note: Especially ImageStreaming and Feldenkrais have a kind of positive feedback-loop: Through these methods, you’re differentiating your perception, thus enabling (faster, more effective) change in your cognitive structures. These changed structures in turn can lead to a permanent change in perception, which changes the cognitive structures and so forth.
So, does this sound like a viable explanation? Have you any comments, questions, additions? Perhaps somebody from LSC (as far as no trade secrets are concerned)?
Thanks for your patience and thanks in advance for any reply,
Jens
