How Do People Learn Best? Life of Light

This seems like one of the most important questions we can ask. We need to learn for everything in life — it greatly affects our life from beginning to end. We also need to learn in order to transcend life. This learning is perhaps of a different nature a bit,… but maybe not. And this learning is certainly the most important thing in our life.

So the question is, how do people learn best? How do we learn best?

Quite simply, we learn best when we have love for something. When our learning is driven by love, we will get much further on each glass of water, we will get much further on each slice of bread. When our learning is driven by love, we will absorb much more, we will remember much more.

This is why one can learn a language better when in love with a person who speaks that language.

This is why kids can learn the ins and outs of complex video games on their own, but might have trouble learning simple math in a boring math class.

This is why people with a passion for life, learn more about the world around us.

Clearly, if we want people to learn a lot and learn well, we need to help them discover why something is worth loving (not just why it’s worth learning about).

If we want to instill a lifelong love for learning in them, we must instill a love for the creation around them in them.

There are some other tips for helping people to learn. Good use of the figures of speech is also helpful (though, one might simply say that the reason for that is our natural love for cleverness, patterns, analogies, dichotomies, pleasant sounds, and other qualities they clearly employ.)

As is the use of songs — we are drawn to music, tend to love it (when we don’t hate it, that is — but then again, some say hate is just another form of love).

Additionally, it’s hard to beat repetition. As you’ll notice in the figures of speech listed below, repetition is very common, used in a variety of different ways.

One more thing I’ll note about the figures of speech, and learning in general, is that many of them purposefully turn things around from how we’d normally talk or think. Doing so requires us to think more. I think this is key. They make us think harder… yet in a way we enjoy (getting back to that issue of love). As thus, the meanings expressed sink in more than they would otherwise.

Now, some useful figures of speech that help people to remember and learn (and their short descriptions from Wikipedia):

accumulation: Summary of previous arguments in a forceful manner
adnomination: Repetition of a word with a change in letter or sound
alliteration: Series of words that begin with the same consonant or sound alike
adynaton: hyperbole taken to such extreme lengths as to suggest a complete impossibility.
anadiplosis: Repetition of a word at the end of a clause at the beginning of another
anaphora: Repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses
anastrophe: Inversion of the usual word order
anticlimax: Arrangement of words in order of decreasing importance
antimetabole: Repetition of words in successive clauses, in reverse order
antistrophe: Repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses (see epistrophe)
antithesis: Juxtaposition of opposing or contrasting ideas
aphorismus: Statement that calls into question the definition of a word
aposiopesis: Breaking off or pausing speech for dramatic or emotional effect
apposition: Placing of two elements side by side, in which the second defines the first
assonance: Repetition of vowel sounds, most commonly within a short passage of verse
asteismus: Facetious or mocking answer that plays on a word
asyndeton: Omission of conjunctions between related clauses
cacophony: Juxtaposition of words producing a harsh sound
chiasmus: Word order in one clause is inverted in the other (inverted parallelism).
climax: Arrangement of words in order of increasing importance
commoratio: Repetition of an idea, re-worded
consonance: Repetition of consonant sounds, most commonly within a short passage of verse
ellipsis: Omission of words
enallage: Substitution of forms that are grammatically different, but have the same meaning
enjambment: Breaking of a syntactic unit (a phrase, clause, or sentence) by the end of a line or between two verses
epanalepsis: Repetition of the initial word or words of a clause or sentence at the end of the clause or sentence
epistrophe: (also known as antistrophe) Repetition of the same word or group of words at the end of successive clauses. The counterpart of anaphora
euphony: Opposite of cacophony - i.e. pleasant sounding
hendiadys: Use of two nouns to express an idea when the normal structure would be a noun and a modifier
hendiatris: Use of three nouns to express one idea
homeoptoton: in a flexive language the use of the first and last words of a sentence in the same forms
homographs: Words that are identical in spelling but different in origin and meaning
homonyms: Words that are identical with each other in pronunciation and spelling, but differing in origin and meaning
homophones:Words that are identical with each other in pronunciation but differing in origin and meaning
hypallage: Changing the order of words so that they are associated with words normally associated with others
hyperbaton: Unusual or inverted word order
hyperbole: Exaggeration of a statement
hysteron proteron: The inversion of the usual temporal or causal order between two elements
isocolon: Use of parallel structures of the same length in successive clauses
internal rhyme: Using two or more rhyming words in the same sentence
kenning: A metonymic compound where the terms together form a sort of anecdote
merism: Referring to a whole by enumerating some of its parts
non sequitur: Statement that bears no relationship to the context preceding
onomatopoeia: Word that imitates a real sound (e.g. tick-tock or boom)
paradiastole: Repetition of the disjunctive pair “neither” and “nor”
parallelism: The use of similar structures in two or more clauses
paraprosdokian: Unexpected ending or truncation of a clause (Colbert: “I am America, and so can you!”)
parenthesis: Insertion of a clause or sentence in a place where it interrupts the natural flow of the sentence
paroemion: Resolute alliteration in which every word in a sentence or phrase begins with the same letter
parrhesia: Speaking openly or boldly, or apologizing for doing so (declaring to do so)
pleonasm: Use of superfluous or redundant words
polyptoton: Repetition of words derived from the same root
polysyndeton: Repetition of conjunctions
pun: When a word or phrase is used in two(or more) different senses
sibilance: Repetition of letter ‘s’, it is a form of alliteration
spoonerism: Interchanging of (usually initial) letters of words with amusing effect
superlative: Declaring something the best within its class i.e. the ugliest,the most precious
symploce: Simultaneous use of anaphora and epistrophe: the repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning and the end of successive clauses
synchysis: Interlocked word order
synonymia: Use of two or more synonyms in the same clause or sentence
tautology: Redundancy due to superfluous qualification; saying the same thing twice
tmesis: Division of the elements of a compound word
zeugma: The using of one verb for two actions

And some more (these are ‘tropes,’ the above were ‘schemes’ — there is some duplication):

allegory: Extended metaphor in which a story is told to illustrate an important attribute of the subject
alliteration: Repetition of the first consonant sound in a phrase.
anacoenosis: Posing a question to an audience, often with the implication that it shares a common interest with the speaker
antanaclasis: A form of pun in which a word is repeated in two different senses
anthimeria: Substitution of one part of speech for another, often turning a noun into a verb
anthropomorphism: Ascribing human characteristics to something that is not human, such as an animal or a god (see zoomorphism)
antimetabole: Repetition of words in successive clauses, but in transposed grammatical order
antiphrasis: Word or words used contradictory to their usual meaning, often with irony
antonomasia: Substitution of a phrase for a proper name or vice versa
aphorism: Tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion, an adage
apophasis: Invoking an idea by denying its invocation
apostrophe: Addressing a thing, an abstraction or a person not present
archaism: Use of an obsolete, archaic, word (a word used in olden language, e.g. Shakespeare’s language)
auxesis: Form of hyperbole, in which a more important sounding word is used in place of a more descriptive term
catachresis: Mixed metaphor (sometimes used by design and sometimes a rhetorical fault)
circumlocution: “Talking around” a topic by substituting or adding words, as in euphemism or periphrasis
commiseration: Evoking pity in the audience
correctio: Linguistic device used for correcting one’s mistakes, a form of which is epanorthosis
denominatio: Another word for metonymy
double negative: Grammar construction that can be used as an expression and it is the repetition of negative words
dysphemism: Substitution of a harsher, more offensive, or more disagreeable term for another. Opposite of euphemism
epanorthosis: Immediate and emphatic self-correction, often following a slip of the tongue
enumeratio: A form of amplification in which a subject is divided, detailing parts, causes, effects, or consequences to make a point more forcibly
epanodos: Repetition in a sentence with a reversal of words. Example: The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath
erotema: Synonym for rhetorical question
euphemism: Substitution of a less offensive or more agreeable term for another
exclamation: An emphatic parenthetic addition that is complete in itself, exclamation differs from interjection in that it usually involves an emotional response.
hermeneia: Repetition for the purpose of interpreting what has already been said
hyperbaton: Words that naturally belong together are separated from each other for emphasis or effect
hyperbole: Use of exaggerated terms for emphasis
hypocatastasis: An implication or declaration of resemblance that does not directly name both terms
hypophora: Answering one’s own rhetorical question at length
hysteron proteron: Reversal of anticipated order of events; a form of hyperbaton
innuendo: Having a hidden meaning in a sentence that makes sense whether it is detected or not
inversion: A reversal of normal word order, especially the placement of a verb ahead of the subject (subject-verb inversion).
invocation: Apostrophe to a god or muse
irony: Use of word in a way that conveys a meaning opposite to its usual meaning
litotes: Emphasizing the magnitude of a statement by denying its opposite
meiosis: Use of understatement, usually to diminish the importance of something
merism: Statement of opposites to indicate reality
metalepsis: Referring to something through reference to another thing to which it is remotely related
metaphor: Stating one entity is another for the purpose of comparing them in quality
metonymy: Substitution of an associated word to suggest what is really meant
neologism: The use of a word or term that has recently been created, or has been in use for a short time. Opposite of archaism
onomatopoeia: Words that sound like their meaning
oxymoron: Using two terms together, that normally contradict each other
parable: Extended metaphor told as an anecdote to illustrate or teach a moral lesson
paradox: Use of apparently contradictory ideas to point out some underlying truth
paradiastole: Extenuating a vice in order to flatter or soothe
paraprosdokian: Phrase in which the latter part causes a rethinking or reframing of the beginning
parallel irony: An ironic juxtaposition of sentences or situations (informal)
paralipsis: Drawing attention to something while pretending to pass it over
paronomasia: A form of pun, in which words similar in sound but with different meanings are used
pathetic fallacy: Using a word that refers to a human action on something non-human
periphrasis: Using several words instead of few
personification/prosopopoeia/anthropomorphism: Attributing or applying human qualities to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena
praeteritio: Another word for paralipsis
procatalepsis: Refuting anticipated objections as part of the main argument
proslepsis: Extreme form of paralipsis in which the speaker provides great detail while feigning to pass over a topic
proverb: Succinct or pithy expression of what is commonly observed and believed to be true
pun: Play on words that will have two meanings
repetition: Repeated usage of word(s)/group of words in the same sentence to create a poetic/rhythmic effect
rhetorical question: Asking a question as a way of asserting something. Asking a question which already has the answer hidden in it. Or asking a question not for the sake of getting an answer but for asserting something (or as in a poem for creating a poetic effect)
satire: Use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc. A literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule. A literary genre comprising such compositions
simile: Comparison between two things using like or as
snowclone: Quoted or misquoted cliché or phrasal template
superlative: Saying that something is the best of something or has the most of some quality, e.g. the ugliest, the most precious etc.
syllepsis: Form of pun, in which a single word is used to modify two other words, with which it normally would have differing meanings
syncatabasis (condescension, accommodation): adaptation of style to the level of the audience
synecdoche: Form of metonymy, in which a part stands for the whole
synesthesia: Description of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally describe another.
tautology: Needless repetition of the same sense in different words Example: The children gathered in a round circle
transferred epithet: Placing of an adjective with what appears to be the incorrect noun
truism: a self-evident statement
tricolon diminuens: Combination of three elements, each decreasing in size
tricolon crescens: Combination of three elements, each increasing in size
zeugma: A figure of speech related to syllepsis, but different in that the word used as a modifier is not compatible with one of the two words it modifies
zoomorphism: Applying animal characteristics to humans or gods