# 04.学习内驱力 [TOC=3,5] ## 4 Learn drive ## 学习内驱力 Learn drive is the neural mechanism by which the brain assembles the [jigsaw puzzle](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Jigsaw_puzzle) of world knowledge. 学习内驱力是大脑用于组织全世界知识的[拼图游戏](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Jigsaw_puzzle)的神经机制。 ### 4.1 Definition ### 定义 The term **learn drive** is essential for proving the inefficiency of [schooling](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Problem_of_Schooling). **学习内驱力**这个术语对于证明[学校教育](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Problem_of_Schooling)的低效是必不可少的。 > **The learn drive is a natural tendency of the brain to seek new information**. The learn drive is generated by a guidance system hard-wired in the brain. This guidance system activates the reward centers upon detecting novel patterns in memory storage. > > **学习内驱力是大脑寻求新信息的一种自然倾向**。学习内驱力是由大脑中固定的引导系统产生的。该引导系统根据检测记忆存储中的新模式，激活奖励中枢。 ### 4.2 Terminology ### 术语 I purposefully avoid the term curiosity, which is often used in psychology. Without precise understanding of the mechanisms of the learn drive, my whole reasoning against the present school system would collapse. The need for a simple and precise term will become clearer when I explain why I do not want to employ other established terms that might easily be misconstrued. 我有意避免使用好奇心这个术语，这是心理学经常使用的术语。如果不能准确理解学习内驱力的机制，我反对现行学校制度的整个推理就会站不住脚。当我解释为什么我不想使用其他容易被误解的已有术语时，对简单而精确的术语的需要将变得更加清晰。 Terms such as curiosity, novelty seeking, boredom susceptibility, openness to experience, need of cognition, and intellectual engagement are often used in various contexts to imply the existence of the learn drive. They are either misleading or mean different things. They all carry a baggage that may obscure the picture. This includes decades of disagreements in science, popular use, [inappropriate connotations](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Curiosity_has_bad_connotations), and more. 好奇心（curiosity）、新颖寻求（novelty seeking）、无聊易感性（boredom susceptibility）、经验开放性（openness to experience）、认知需求（need of cognition）和智力投入（intellectual engagement）等术语经常被用于不同的上下文中，以暗示学习内驱力的存在。它们要么是误导，要么意味着不同的东西。他们都有一个包袱，可能会使这个概念模糊不清。这包括几十年来在科学、流行用法、[不恰当内涵](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Curiosity_has_bad_connotations)等方面的分歧。 Conditions needed to delineate the learn drive: * learn drive is innate \(i.e. we are born with it\) * learn drive is trainable \(i.e. it can be enhanced with learning\) * learn drive can be suppressed * learn drive is not spurred by stress * learn drive delivers its own reward * learn drive is not a personality trait \(i.e. we all exhibit the learn drive, at least as children\) 描述学习内驱力所需的条件： * 学习内驱力是与生俱来的（即我们生来就有学习内驱力） * 学习内驱力是可以培养的（即可以通过学习来增强） * 学习内驱力可以被抑制 * 学习内驱力不是由压力驱动的 * 学习内驱力会带来回报 * 学习内驱力不是一种性格特征（即我们都表现出学习内驱力，至少在儿童时期） Learn drive is a vital evolutionary adaptation and [employs information entropy](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Learntropy) to make judgements about the environment and internal inputs. Most of all, **learn drive is a highly desirable property of the human brain**. 学习内驱力是一种重要的进化适应，[利用信息熵](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Learntropy)对环境和内部输入进行判断。最重要的是，**学习内驱力是人类大脑非常需要的一种属性。** In terms of neural networks, the learn drive can be run by very simple mechanisms that may produce a family of similar trajectories for exploring the environment. If you plot the movements of a toddler in a new environment, you may find it hard to distinguish from a graph generated by a cockroach. However, the ultimate memory effect is wildly different. 在神经网络方面，学习内驱力可以由非常简单的机制运行，这些机制可能产生一系列类似的轨迹，用于探索环境。如果你把一个蹒跚学步的孩子在一个新环境中的轨迹画出来，你可能会发现这很难与蟑螂产生的轨迹图区分。然而，最终的记忆效果却大不相同。 The term **curiosity** could be used instead of the learn drive. It has a precise scientific definition but it also has negative connotations in popular use. The learn drive is wholly positive. The learn drive is the instinct that makes humans land on the moon. We say "_curiosity killed the cat_". A Polish proverb says "_curiosity is the first step to hell_". I say "_curiosity is the first step to knowledge_". We use terms like "_morbid curiosity_" or associate curiosity with an older lady cranking her neck out of the window to suck in the latest gossip. Curiosity has also been tainted by its association with motivation and reward. Kids may be curious about what time a candy shop will open. This type of curiosity can be induced without the learn drive. Grades in schooling can generate "curiosity" that **will not** propel a child to greatness. The learn drive is information-based and is less likely to lead to a blind alley. The term _curiosity drive\_could serve the role of the learn drive if it was based on a confirmed theory and defined precisely as omnipresent \(rather than generated by uncertainty\). Throughout this article I explain that we need to cherish and foster the learn drive in education. I hear this often: \_curiosity can wait, learning is a priority_. There is no such ambiguity with the term _learn drive_. If I kept saying "_we need to foster curiosity_", nobody would take it seriously! **好奇心**这个术语可以用来代替学习内驱力。它有精确的科学定义，但在通俗使用中也有负面含义。学习内驱力是完全正面的。学习内驱力是使人类登上月球的本能。我们说「_好奇心害死猫_」。波兰有句谚语说「_好奇心是下地狱的第一步_」。我说「_好奇是知识的第一步_」。我们会用「_病态的好奇心_」这样的词，或者把好奇心和一位老太太伸长脖子从窗户里探出头来听最新的八卦联系起来。好奇心与动机和奖励的联系也玷污了它。孩子们可能会好奇糖果店什么时候开门。这种好奇心可以在没有学习内驱力的情况下产生。学校的成绩会产生「好奇心」，而这种「好奇心」**不会**驱使孩子走向成功。学习内驱力是基于信息的，不太可能导向死胡同。如果_好奇心内驱力_这个词是建立在一个被证实的理论之上，并且被精确地定义为无所不在的（而不是由不确定性产生的），那么它就可以作为学习内驱力。在这篇文章中，我解释了我们需要珍惜和培养教育中的学习内驱力。我经常听到这样的话：_好奇心可以等待，学习才是最优先的_。_学习内驱力_这个词没有这样的歧义。如果我一直说「_我们需要培养好奇心_」，没有人会认真对待! **Boredom susceptibility** or **boredom intolerance** is very close to the learn drive, however, it implies impatience. It is a repulsive force while the learn drive is based on hunger for new knowledge. Both may be based on the same mechanism, but this article needs to focus on the positive aspect of the learn drive. Substitute learn drive in my texts with boredom susceptibility and you will see a dramatic change in connotations. **无聊易感性**或**无聊不耐受**与学习内驱力非常接近，然而，它强调不耐烦。它是一种排斥力，而学习内驱力是基于对新知识渴求。两者可能基于相同的机制，但是本文需要关注学习内驱力的积极方面。在我的文章中，以学习内驱力代替无聊易感性，你会看到内涵的戏剧性变化。 **Openness to experience** is a personality trait. It might equally well be defined as the ability to control fears generated by explorations sparked by the learn drive. All people experience the learn drive but some will have it suppressed by situational anxiety. **经验开放性**是一种性格特质。它也可以被定义为一种控制恐惧的能力，这种恐惧是由学习内驱力引发的探索所产生的。所有人都体会过学习内驱力，但有些人的学习内驱力会被情境的焦虑所抑制。 **Disposition to seek knowledge** is a rare term that has never been properly defined. It is used by experts such as [Dr Lilian Katz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilian_Katz). The term is pretty fitting, however, it is inconveniently long and _disposition_ is far less accurate than _drive_. _Drive_ is better at expressing the innate nature of the phenomenon. In addition, _knowledge seeking_ is a term often used in the field of information retrieval. **求知倾向**是一个罕见的、从未被定义过的术语。一些专家比如 [Lilian Katz 博士](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilian_Katz)有用过这个词。这个词很合适，但是它太长了，而且倾向远不如内驱力准确。内驱力更善于表达现象的本质。此外，knowledge seeking 是信息检索领域经常使用的一个术语。 **Need for cognition** as the name implies is wider than the learn drive. Playing checkers may satisfy one's need for cognition, but it may easily fail to satisfy the learn drive. The term _need for cognition_ overlaps with a subset of curiosity labelled _intellectual curiosity_. Both fail to precisely cover the conditions listed for the learn drive. 正如名字所暗示的那样，**认知需求**的含义比学习内驱力更宽泛。下棋可以满足一个人的认知需求，但它无疑地不能满足学习内驱力。_认知需求_这个术语与好奇心的一个子概念重叠，后者被称为_智力好奇心_。这两种方法都不能精确地涵盖学习内驱力列出的条件。 **Novelty seeking** is a concept widely used in psychology and behavioral science. It is often confused with curiosity. However, its right place is with the trait theory. Novelty seeking correlates with impulsivity and thrill or sensation seeking. It is then seen as a trait that may lead to behavioral problems. In contrast, the learn drive is the purest of human needs that makes us inventors and discoverers. Novelty seeking is part of [Cloninger's model of personality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperament_and_Character_Inventory). In some personality tests it is part of extroversion. It is hereditary, associated with dopamine receptors, and it might send you on a trip to Mt Everest. It might be associated with drug abuse. Mixed reports on correlation with [D4 receptor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine_receptor_D4) gene have been interpreted as lack of consensus between psychologists on what novelty seeking actually is. The learn drive is universal, it is innate, but it is also highly dependent on the status of memory, i.e. it is shaped by experience. **新颖寻求**是心理学和行为科学中广泛应用的概念。它经常与好奇心混淆。然而，它的正确位置在于特质理论。新颖寻求与冲动、刺激或感觉追求相关。并且它被视为一种可能导致行为问题的特质。与此相反，学习内驱力是人类最纯粹的需求，它使我们成为发明家和发现者。新颖寻求是 [Cloninger 人格模型](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperament_and_Character_Inventory)的一部分。在一些性格测试中，它是外向性的一部分。它是遗传的，与多巴胺受体有关，它可能会把你送上珠穆朗玛峰。它可能与药物滥用有关。与 [D4 受体](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine_receptor_D4)基因相关的形形色色的报告被解释为心理学家们对新颖寻求究竟是什么缺乏共识。学习内驱力是普遍的，是与生俱来的，但它也高度依赖于记忆的状态，即它是由经验塑造的。 ### 4.3 Novelty and stress ### 新奇和压力 In a lab, rats can be scared into novelty seeking. When a rat senses the smell of a predator, it will double its efforts to find a novel way out of its environment. This behavior shows a possible confusion between the innate drive and the induced drive. Rats behavior will depend on the balance between novelty seeking and the fear of risk. In other words, it is a balance between the search for the new and the fear of the new. One might wrongly use such rat experiments to conclude that kids might be scared into learning. The opposite is true. [Chronic stress is one of the prime destroyers of the brain](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Stress_resilience). It is a prime enemy in development, and prime suppressors of the learn drive. We then have a confusion between novelty seeking \(behavior\) and novelty seeking \(instinct\). Some procedures may increase the behavior without changing the instinct. You may scare an animal into novelty seeking \(increase in behavior\) while actually suppressing the instinct in the long term \(instinct suppression\). The attraction to the new and the fear of the new will always be present. In optimization of education, we need to focus on the attraction part, and eliminate the fear part. The learn drive is part of the attractive force in novelty seeking. 在实验室里，老鼠会被吓得去寻找新事物。当老鼠嗅到捕食者的气味时，它会加倍努力寻找一种新的方法走出自己的环境。这种行为显示出先天驱动力和诱发驱动力之间可能存在混乱。老鼠的行为取决于对新事物的寻找和对风险的恐惧之间的平衡。换句话说，这是对新事物的探索和对新事物的恐惧之间的平衡。有人可能会错误地用这种老鼠实验来得出结论：孩子们可能会被吓得去学习。事实正好相反。[长期的压力是大脑的主要破坏因素之一](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Stress_resilience)。它是成长中的主要敌人，也是学习内驱力的主要抑制因素。于是我们就混淆了求新（表现）和求新（本能）。有些过程可以在不改变本能的情况下增强表现。你可能会吓到动物去追求新奇（表现增强），但从长远来看却抑制了本能（本能抑制）。新事物的吸引和新事物的恐惧将永远存在。在优化教育中，我们需要关注吸引部分，消除恐惧部分。学习内驱力是寻找新事物的吸引力的一部分。 Anxiety may suppress or enhance exploration. If a child fears dark woods, its explorations will depend on whether it is in the woods \(enhanced exploration\), on its edge \(inhibited exploration\), or away from the woods \(uninhibited exploration powered by the learn drive\). **In education, we want to maximize the learn drive and minimize anxiety**. 焦虑可能会抑制或加强探索。如果一个孩子害怕黑森林，他的探索将取决于他是在森林里（强化探索），在边缘（抑制探索），还是远离森林（由学习内驱力驱动的不受抑制的探索）。**在教育中，我们希望最大限度地提高学习内驱力，最大限度地减少焦虑。** > The learn drive is a natural instinct to acquire new knowledge. It is present in all healthy students. It is a good force that changes the world. > > 学习内驱力是获得新知识的一种天生本能。所有健康的学生都有学习内驱力。这是一股改变世界的好力量。 ### 4.4 Suppression of the learn drive ### 学习驱力的抑制因素 **Boredom** can now be redefined as the absence of reward from the learn drive system. A healthy brain will resist boredom, and perceive it as a penalty. Children at school are gradually conditioned to tolerate boredom via the mechanism of [learned helplessness](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Learned_helplessness_vs._learn_drive). **无聊**现在可以被重新定义为缺乏学习内驱力系统的奖励。一个健康的大脑会抵制无聊，并将其视为一种惩罚。在学校里的孩子由于[习得性无助](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Learned_helplessness_vs._learn_drive)的机制逐渐习惯于忍受无聊。 I will try to show how we systematically undermine the learn drive by [the way we treat newborns and toddlers](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Baby_management). We continue the process by employing low-quality daycare, and ultimately destroy the learn drive by means of compulsory schooling. By the time of high school graduation, the learn drive will often have already been entirely ravaged and vestigial. This is often wrongly attributed to the process of aging or even natural development. This is a dangerous falsehood. **The learn drive can power a septuagenarian as much as it powers a 7-year-old**. I will explain how. 我将试图通过[我们对待新生儿和初学走路的孩子的方式](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Baby_management)来展示我们是如何系统性地削弱学习内驱力的。我们继续采用低质量的日托，最终以义务教育的方式破坏学习内驱力。到了高中毕业的时候，学习内驱力往往已经完全被摧残而退化了。这往往被错误地归因于衰老过程，甚至被归咎于自然发展。这是一个危险的谎言。**学习内驱力可以为 70 多岁的老人提供和 7 岁孩子一样多的动力。**我将解释学习内驱力是如何做到的。 ### 4.5 Further reading ### 拓展阅读 For a good discussion of curiosity theories, see: * [Curiosity and the pleasures of learning: Wanting and liking new information](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/245823962_Curiosity_and_the_pleasures_of_learning_Wanting_and_liking_new_information) * [Curiosity and Exploration](http://www.csun.edu/~vcpsy00h/students/explore.htm) 有关好奇心理论的详细讨论，请参见： * [好奇心和学习的乐趣：想要和喜欢新信息](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/245823962_Curiosity_and_the_pleasures_of_learning_Wanting_and_liking_new_information) * [好奇心与探索](http://www.csun.edu/~vcpsy00h/students/explore.htm) ### 4.6 Summary: Learn drive ### 摘要：学习内驱力 * learn drive is a natural tendency of the brain to seek new information * 学习内驱力是大脑寻求新信息的一种自然倾向 * learn drive activates the reward centers upon detecting novel patterns in memory storage * 学习内驱力根据检测记忆存储中的新模式，激活奖励中枢 * learn drive is innate but is also trainable * 学习内驱力是天生的，但也是可以训练的 * learn drive is universal * 学习内驱力是普遍存在的 * learn drive can be suppressed * 学习内驱力可以被抑制 * compulsory schooling is usually a suppressor of the learn drive * 义务教育通常是抑制学习内驱力的因素 * learn drive does not need to decline with age, it can be sustained till the end of a healthy lifespan * 学习内驱力不随着年龄的增长而衰退，它可以持续到健康的寿命结束 * best enhancer of the learn drive is rich learning * 学习内驱力的最佳增强方法是丰富的学习