Old-school first-person simulations: Dog on the beach and Monkey Sees, Monkey Does
Seeing, learning, doing
Have you ever seen a dog running at the beach? I always get a sense of freedom (and a smile), even if I started off my day in a bad mood.
From seeing to sensing
That sense of freedom I get from seeing the dog running is called being proprioceptive.
✨ You proprioceive when you see others moving, you don’t only see, you feel it. You get a sense of what you’re observing.
~ Kelly McGonigal The joy of movement
This could explain why many humans love watching sport. It’s wonderful to see what human bodies are capable of.
Another proprio- word is proprioception. This is basically your 7th sense – knowing where and how your body is moving in space, like being able to touch your knee with your eyes closed.
From reading to sensing
What I found really interesting is that this proprioceptive sense is also active when we’re reading.
✨ Psychologist Jeff Zacks used MRI scans to prove that when you read, your brain runs first-person simulations of what happens in the story! You’re actually having the experience you’re reading about.
[I learned this from Hazel Gale’s newsletter in an article called This is your brain on story.]
From seeing to learning
We don’t only use our eyes to experience things, though.
Have you ever been embarrassed by a child saying out loud the worst of all the curse words you know – which you never intended to teach them! – at the worst possible moment?
Then you found out the hard way that children learn by Monkey Sees, Monkey Does and no amount of Don’t do what I do, do as I say! helps.
As adults we also learn by copying, like what we see work for other parents dealing with temper tantrums or how to deal with an annoying colleague at work.
✨ A wonderful flaw about human beings is that we're incapable of making perfect copies. Our failure to copy our heroes is where we discover where our own thing lives.
That is how we evolve.
~ Austin Kleon Stealing like an artist
What can’t be copied by the eyes
We may learn by copying, but we master by doing.
✨ Mastery is the best goal because the rich can't buy it, the impatient can't rush it, the privileged can't inherit it, and nobody can steal it. You can only earn it through hard work. Mastery is the ultimate status.
~ Derek Sivers How to live [found in James Clear’s newsletter]
What doesn’t make sense
Make sure that what you’re copying is what you actually want.
✨ It doesn't make sense to continue wanting something if you're not willing to do what it takes to get it.
If you don't want to live the lifestyle, then release yourself from the desire.
To crave the result but not the process, is to guarantee disappointment.
~ James Clear
That’s it. Hope you have a d’lightful copy-worthy week,
D