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By applying an idea to other contexts and then looking for possible patterns, we have the potential to develop a ‘meta-idea’, and we define this over-arching pattern as a concept. For example, we may observe that the city of London sits on a river as does Paris and Cairo. So are all cities built on rivers and why would that be? But then we find that some cities are not on rivers such as New York, Sydney and Auckland. However, what these cities have in common is that they are all on harbours. What is the common denominator between these two groups of cities? The common denominator is that they are all close to large harbours or rivers. Cities produce lots of goods and they needed to trade these goods for other goods, that they did not make or grow. Maybe these major waterways were the equivalent of our more modern motorways, railway lines and airports?
By carrying out this interrogation, courtesy of our ability to ask clever questions, we can combine all our contexts via the general rule that all cities that have been established for 100 years or more are almost always built near large waterways so that ships can take cargo away to other countries and bring in cargo from other countries. The overarching concept of trade and location of cities has now been established. This concept allows us to predict where large cities that were built over 100 years ago were probably located if we are given a map with those details on it.
An ‘aha!’ moment almost always accompanies the new understanding of a concept. The ‘aha! moment’ is the result of a sudden burst of hormones in our brain. These hormones instruct the brain to map that pattern immediately and that concept will be remembered forever and what is more, that memory is created immediately.
When we consciously understand a concept for the first time, we experience an ‘aha! moment.’ The ‘aha! moment’ generates a brief but powerful emotional ‘high’, releasing hormones in the brain. In this emerging model the hormones that are released in the brain inform the hippocampus to immediately store that concept in permanent long-term memory.135 There are no temporary or short-term memories when it comes to the formation of concepts; and we ‘get it’ immediately.
The diagram to the left shows the interplay in the development of concepts from ideas and knowledge.
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Resource 50: Building Concepts from Ideas
135 For the compete framework on how the brain learns, see http://www.marktreadwell.com/products
Applied to additional contexts
Identity
Ideas
(that are understood)
Thinking & Questioning
The Language of Learning
Collaboration
Managing Self
Concepts (that allow us to make predictions)
Stage 3
Knowledge (the minimum)
Start Here
Connecting & Reflecting