We learn. Period.
So, now researchers at MIT have showed that – contrary to the popular saying – we don’t actually learn from our mistakes, but rather our successes. According to them our brain cells react immediately to a success, fine tuning themselves accordingly, while failures however trigger neither change nor behavioural improvement.
But wait a minute; just two years ago Exeter psychologists showed that we really do learn more from our mistakes than from our successes by identifying a warning signal in the brain that triggers instantly on experiences that have previously rendered erroneous decisions.
Can we find the answer to this discrepancy in the cultural differences between realistic England and optimistic USA? Or is it just that the yanks had put to few electrodes at the back of the head? Or is it just the people writing headlines that just love to polarize?
I think that last one is closest to the truth. We want the answer to be either or. I mean, what kind of a saying is that; “We learn from both our mistakes and our successes”. Lame. But it’s true. So, my unscientific answer is:
We learn. Period.
Isn’t that great?! I think so.