There is focused and diffused thinking. Ping Pong is a technique that explains how to switch between focused and diffused thinking in order to increase your understanding and get creative.
the full story
The basic idea is that we have two ways of learning new information: we have focused and diffused thinking. Ping Pong explains how to switch between focused and diffused thinking in order to increase your understanding and get creative. Wearing tiny shorts and grunting is optional.
focused learning
Focused learning works by looking at a problem set and trying really hard to get it. It’s about actively using every ounce of mental force to understand the problem that is in front of us. It’s like seeing a brick wall and reasoning, “It’s too hard to just run through and too tall to climb.”
Diffused learning
Diffused learning is just letting your mind wander without a plan. It can deepen your understanding or trigger new creative thoughts. With diffused learning, your mind might say, “Hey, why don’t we tie a bunch of balloons together and just float over it?”
ping pong technique
Both processes are important to maximize your understanding of a problem you’re facing. To truly optimize your learning, play ping pong between the two: focus, relax, focus, relax, focus, relax…
the power of focused attention
The best practice is to first focus all your attention, ideally shutting off any distractions like your phone and other noise. After doing this for a while (a timer can be used), deliberately stop to focus and let your mind freely wander. This is when the brain connects what you just focused on with other information stored in your memory, which leads to deeper thinking, better retention, and allows for creative thoughts to happen.
real life examples
Painter Salvador Dali was using the ping pong technique. After a round of focused work, Dali sat in his armchair to think and doze off. In one hand, he held a big key, and the moment he fell asleep, the key dropped. The sound of the key woke him, and he would go back to the canvas to continue his focused work. Steve Jobs broke up his daily thinking routine by going out for long walks.
master the test with ping pong technique
The ping pong technique can be useful to study for tests. Start with the most difficult problem; once you get stuck, switch to a simpler one. While doing the easier problem, your brain will keep the difficult problem in its working memory. Without conscious thought, your brain will look for connections and try to make sense of the initial, more difficult problem. Once you are done with the easy problem, go back to the difficult one. Maybe it wasn’t as difficult as you thought?
what do you think?
Please use the comment section below to let us know if you find this technique useful and subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive updates.
Sources
- The technique is based on material from the MOOC Learning How to Learn by Barbara Oakley, PhD, PE, who is a professor of engineering at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.
