In the Argument section, Shenk discusses the background of
Yo-Yo Ma, a talented piano player. From a very early age, Yo-Yo Ma was exposed to
music. As a child, he had an “intensively conditioned musical brain,
world-class teaching resources, and a desperate personal desire that
researchers universally agree is the key to precocious success” (95).
However, what would happen if these same environmental conditions
appeared later on, perhaps when Ma reached adulthood? Would they still have the
same effects? Is it really true that it gets harder to learn new things as we
age? If yes, why does this happen? Can this “early learning” be related to a
sensitive period? How are the two related?
Diane Kuai
(dianekuai@gmail.com)
The idea of it being harder to learn when one gets older has been established for a long time but there is new research that shows that when one gets older there is still the ability to “learn new tricks.” Although Yo-Yo Ma, a great cellist, started at a very young age with great motivation; there are also many examples of those who started later in life who became very successful and celebrated as great talents in their respective fields. For example, Luciano Pavarotti, one of finest tenors of the 20th century, didn’t formally start to train and pursue his singing career until he was 19. Before that he had the dream of being a football (soccer) goalkeeper. He is the perfect example of how things can be taught and perfected just as well in later life.
ReplyDeleteYes, there is plenty of evidence of things being easier to learn at a younger age, such as languages. One of the advantages of learning things when you are younger is that everything is new and being stored and recalled quite rapidly which is why things such as languages come much easier to learn. However, when one gets older it is just harder for the brain to be as flexible as it was when we were younger to make those connections and be flexible in moving your mouth a certain way to form a word or structure your hand a certain way to play an instrument. Your brain never loses the capacity to retain and learn new information, your brain just has more information to sift through now that you are older. (New York Times)
In connection to biology, this whole idea of early learning of certain behaviors is similar to the “critical period” of imprinting that we see in many animals such as geese with their mothers and birds in learning their songs. Human behavior is much like the song learning of birds. (pg. 1129 of Campbell) Although there is a critical period of learning the song, the final song is not solidified until it compares it to songs of other birds. This shows the crucial need for the proper environment to learn the right song. So like the examples of Yo-Yo Ma and Pavarotti, the crucial part is the environment that they are brought up in not the time they learn. It is this interdependence in nature that is key, not just your given genetics.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/education/edlife/03adult-t.html
Ellen Zhou (ellenzhou2006@gmail.com)
Shenk uses Yo-Yo Ma as an example of someone who learned and achieved a lot at a very young age. "With a blend of admiration, duty, and extreme stubbornness", (95)Yo-Yo gained the desire to impress his very successful sister and strict father. Since his family specialized in music, he figured impressing them with musical skills would most effectively gain their attention. This yearn for attention is a childish one, a trait that many children share. Especially with a talented and hard working sister, Yo-Yo felt like he had to work extra hard to get his father's attention. Since this juvenile trait isn't as evident, or is at least more controlled, in older, more mature people, adults are less likely to gain personal desire this way. If Yo-Yo's sister became very successful later in Yo-Yo's life, his desire for attention may not have been a main desire of his anymore, therefore never giving him that motivation to be noticed by his family. This theoretical change in environment could have caused a huge difference in Yo-Yo's success. Even Yo-Yo's early stubbornness and need to "have it his way" (95) helped spark Yo-Yo's early development of desire. A child's personality and the way his or her parents and family treats him or her plays a huge role in the environment that child grows up in. So since a child's personality and an adult's personality and how their families treat them differs quite a bit, their environments differ a lot. Kids' change a lot as they age. "Their behavior, their attitudes, their likes and dislikes" (http://www.empoweringpar
ReplyDeleteents.com/Sudden-Behavior-Changes-in-Kids-Part-1-What-Do-They-Mean.php). For example, Michael Jordan's "skills didn't appear until after his rejection from the varsity squad in tenth grade" (96). Michael's, and most teenagers', almost rebellious and competitive personality as a teenager helped him gain his drive and conviction to play harder. If Michael had been denied a spot on a team as an adult, he probably wouldn't have taken it so hard;he would've most likely had more control over his emotions and learn to accept failure and move on;he wouldn't have gained that fire inside that drove him to success. So what happened to Yo-Yo and Michael as either a child or teenager wouldn't have the same effect on their decisions and actions as an adult. They would've acted and responded differently.
Yes, it is definitely harder to learn new things as we age. As we get older, "we experience [many declines] in our physical and sensory capabilities" (http://transgenerational.org/aging/
ReplyDeleteaging-process.htm). Many factors cause aging such as "accumulation of waste products in the cells" and "loss of elasticity of the connective body tissue". The slow aging of cells and systems throughout the body and their gradual decrease in ability to respond prevents the body from participating or reacting correctly. As a child, cells and systems are brand new and fresh, but as people get older, their body starts to deteriorate, making it harder to learn new skills or adjust to new environments. It's just the way of life; it's inevitable. So Yo-Yo or Michael would probably have a harder time starting and improving their cello and basketball skills. It makes sense then that we can learn the most when we are the least aged. Just like Cambell explains, birds have a sensitive period, "a limited developmental phase when certain behaviors can be learned...the young imprint on their parent and learn the basic behaviors of their species" (Cambell 1126). I think the "early learning" period of a child's early life is synonymous with a bird's sensitive period. During both periods of time, offspring are learning about their surroundings and family. They are beginning to peice things together, learning about themselves. Although anyone can learn something any time throughout their life, this "sensitive period" is a critical period in all organisms' lives because this is when we learn the most.
Yo-Yo Ma and Michael Jordan both gained their desire to achieve and succeed during different periods of their lives, yet their was something important about each period that helped each gain their own desire, their "key to precocious success" (95). Everyone is different, and everyone acts differently during the different periods of their lives. So how someone acts when they're seven is most likely not how they act when they're 47. Yo-Yo Ma happened to gain that desire to succeed as a cello player at a very young age while it took Michael a little bit longer to find that motivation.
Lili Malone (lilimalone@ameritech.net)