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Feature Article: Notes On Learning
Learning to fly was still the greatest adventure of life.
The inner process of learning to do so many different tasks in
a context so radically altered from everyday life is the most
rewarding thing a person can do. The presence of danger adds
spice to the process by keeping the adrenaline flowing. Weather,
circumstance, and mechanical problems can always combine to overwhelm
the pilot. Inability to properly handle a suddenly increased
workload is the ultimate cause of many accidents. But, when things
are going normally, it's actually pretty easy. It is difficult
to imagine how hard it was at first. Always do things as simply
as possible from navigation, to piloting, to power settings.
Added work can be thought of as a distraction from necessary
tasks. Excessive tasking eventually causes overload and associated
mistakes.
At one time a study was made involving giving radioisotopes in
sugar to students. Magnetic scans were made
of brain activity while new tasks were being learned. The study
results determined that there is a part of the brain that is
dedicated to the acquisition of new knowledge. The brain has
a transfer/storage capability that will move new knowledge, once
acquired into an appropriate brain sector available for recall.
The brain's acquisition center is a relatively small sector that
is subject to overload. The pilot processes of engine operation,
instrument interpretation, communication, navigation and flying
can place a heavy load on the learning center. Only one additional
element such as conflicting traffic can produce instant overload.
The student who breaks the learning process and acquisition of
new knowledge into smaller units of learning that can be acquired
and transferred in bits into the memory storage space. The brain
is able to gather the new learning bits and combine them in to
unified order patterns. The power of the brain to take once learned
As each task is learned, and moved out of the brain's small learning
center, your whole brain will be able to put the pieces together.
It's amazing how the brain can organize and control vast amounts
of learned data. The disturbing aspect of this ability, is the
ease with which an additional single bit of new data working
in the new acquisition center can adversely affect the ability
of the storage data center to function effectively. Yet this
new data will be learned and someday blended seamlessly into
the total data package as is required in making landings.
Last Modified January 20, ©2026 TAGE.COM
