We learn more from our mistakes than from our successes, the old cliché says-and now scientists know why. Researchers at the University of Exeter in England discovered a brain mechanism that alerts us to situations in which we previously went wrong.
In the study, student-playing physicians had to diagnose a fictitious diseased base on images from equally fictitious blood samples. When participants saw images that had previously led them to an erroneous diagnosis, warning signals in the brain appeared only a tenth of second later-much more quickly than did signals triggered by images that had resulted in a correct diagnosis. Earlier studies had confirmed that slipups do indeed result in better learning, but this one is the first to show the brain's specific reaction to a prior blunder. This early-warning signal may be invaluable in situations ranging from the dangerous to the mundane. A child who touches a hot stove top learns the hard way not to do it again-when she sees a glowing burner in the future, her brain will alert her to avoid the painful decision she made the last time. Happy Learning, Yovan P. Putra
