A few years ago, a University of Pennsylvania Professor named Erling Boe made a strange discovery.
Every year, countries compete in what’s known as TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study). But before the test, students are asked to complete a very long survey of 120 questions. This task is so tedious that many students skip lots of questions.
Now here’s the interesting part. Boe found he could precisely predict the top winning countries by ranking them based on the average number of questions answered on that survey.
In other words, students who are patient and focused enough to fill a lengthy form will perform better in the subsequent test than those who got impatient and skimmed the questionnaire. Boe concluded that the ability to sit still and focus on a task for an extended period of time is crucial to master a topic.
But if you’re struggling to learn something or improve your understanding of new topics, what else can you do aside from sitting still, focusing on a task, and chasing flow states? A Stanford neuroscientist and a Berkeley educational researcher weigh in.
Tolerate Mental Discomfort a Bit Longer
In one of his experiments, Schoenfeld videoed more than a hundred people from various backgrounds trying to solve unfamiliar math problems. Many of his subjects, including a nurse who didn’t do math in years, either completely solved or at least developed mathematical intuition from trying long enough. “Given enough time, anyone can learn to do math.” Schoenfeld concluded.
Don’t look for answers too soon because the duration of your struggle is what truly makes a difference to your learning ability. When you try hard and fail, you build a sense of what’s going on. Finding the correct answer, as a matter of fact, is just icing on the cake.
Schoenfeld concluded that people who stomach frustration and struggle with problems longer do better in life than those who give up fast.
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