> [!infobox] <s class="aside-in"><em>mentioned in 16 topics, 27 evergreens, 3 sources</em></s> #### <s class="topic-title">[[learning]]</s> > [!wikipedia] [learning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning) > > Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, [[knowledge]], behaviors, skills, values, attitudes, and preferences. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals, and some machines; there is also evidence for some kind of learning in certain plants. Some learning is immediate, induced by a single event (e.g. being burned by a hot stove), but much skill and knowledge accumulate from repeated experiences. The changes induced by learning often last a lifetime, and it is hard to distinguish learned material that seems to be "lost" from that which cannot be retrieved. > > Human learning starts at birth (it might even start before in terms of an embryo's need for both interaction with, and freedom within its environment within the womb.) and continues until death as a consequence of ongoing interactions between people and their environment. > > For example, learning may occur as a result of habituation, or classical conditioning, operant conditioning or as a result of more complex activities such as play, seen only in relatively intelligent animals. Learning may occur consciously or without [[consciousness|conscious]] awareness. Learning that an aversive event can't be avoided or escaped may result in a condition called learned helplessness. > > There is evidence for human behavioral learning prenatally, in which habituation has been observed as early as 32 weeks into gestation, indicating that the [[central nervous system]] is sufficiently developed and primed for learning and memory to occur very early on in development. > > Play has been approached by several theorists as a form of learning. Children experiment with the world, learn the rules, and learn to interact through play. Lev Vygotsky agrees that play is pivotal for children's development, since they make meaning of their environment through playing educational games. For Vygotsky, however, play is the first form of learning language and communication, and the stage where a child begins to understand rules and symbols. This has led to a view that learning in organisms is always related to semiosis, and often associated with representational systems/activity. > **See**::[[human advancement]] #### Related - [[Algorithmic Learning]] - [[Evergreen notes help us bridge the gap between knowledge and understanding]] - [[Friction is a hindrance to learning]] - [[Good friction causes the brain to engage]] - [[How memory works]] - [[Make your inbox into an entry point by integrating it with your second brain]] - [[Short form media is excellent at scaffolding information]] - [[Sticky concepts connect disparate ideas]] - [[The joy of learning is contagious]] - [[Tips for concentration]] - [[We all deserve help from a compassionate expert]] - [[We learn by transforming information into understanding]] - [[We will evolve when we make learning as easy as thinking]] - [[What are the different kinds of information in books]] - [[Why is evergreen note-taking SO GOOD]] - [[Writing is a catalyst of understanding]] - [[You need to teach yourself what you read]] - [[Your notes should be avenues for learning]] - [[Using Obsidian's graph as a class companion]]