ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science

We learn best when we fail around 15% of the time

We like it easy... but not too easy.

Alexandru MicubyAlexandru Micu
November 6, 2019
in Mind & Brain, News, Science
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

If it’s too hard, or too easy, you probably won’t study very well, according to a new study.

Image credits Hans Braxmeier.

Learning is a funny process. We’d all love for us to sit down and study something only to ace it in the first five minutes with minimal effort — but that’s not how things go. Empirical observations in schools and previous research into the subject found that people learn best when challenged by something just outside of their immediate grasp. In other words, if a subject is way above our heads, we tend to give up or fail so spectacularly that we don’t learn anything; neither will we invest time into studying something we deem too simple.

However, the ideal ‘difficulty level’ in regard to learning remained a matter of some debate. According to the new study, however, we learn best when we ‘fail’ around 15% of the time (conversely, when we only get it right 85% of the time).

The sweet spot

“These ideas that were out there in the education field — that there is this ‘zone of proximal difficulty,’ in which you ought to be maximizing your learning — we’ve put that on a mathematical footing,” said UArizona assistant professor of psychology and cognitive science Robert Wilson, lead author of the study.

The team, which also included members from Brown University, the University of California, Los Angeles University, and Princeton University, conducted a series of machine-learning experiments for the study. This involved teaching computers simple tasks (such as classifying different patterns into one of two categories, or discerning handwritten digits between odd or even). The computers learned best, i.e. improved the fastest, when the difficulty of the task was such that they responded with 85% accuracy. A review of previous research on animal learning suggests that the ‘85% rule’ held true in these studies as well.

“If you have an error rate of 15% or accuracy of 85%, you are always maximizing your rate of learning in these two-choice tasks,” Wilson said.

This 85% rule most likely applies to perceptual learning, the gradual process by which we learn through experience and examples. An example of perceptual learning would be a doctor learning to tell fractured bones from fissured bones on X-ray scans.

“You get better at [the task] over time, and you need experience and you need examples to get better,” Wilson said. “I can imagine giving easy examples and giving difficult examples and giving intermediate examples. If I give really easy examples, you get 100% right all the time and there’s nothing left to learn. If I give really hard examples, you’ll be 50% correct and still not learning anything new, whereas if I give you something in between, you can be at this sweet spot where you are getting the most information from each particular example.”

Time for the pinch of salt, however. The team only worked with simple tasks involving crystal-clear right and wrong answers, but life tends to get more complicated than that. Another glaring limitation is that they worked with algorithms, not people. However, the team is confident that there is value in their findings, and believe that their ‘85%’ approach to learning could help improve our educational systems.

“If you are taking classes that are too easy and acing them all the time, then you probably aren’t getting as much out of a class as someone who’s struggling but managing to keep up,” he said. “The hope is we can expand this work and start to talk about more complicated forms of learning.”

The paper “The Eighty Five Percent Rule for optimal learning” has been published in the journal Nature Communications.

RelatedPosts

Rats watching their friends learn how to navigate a setting, helping us better understand our own “internal GPS”
Study finds how to predict which brains respond to placebo treatments
Modafinil is the first confirmed drug that makes you smarter
Chicks count numbers like humans: from left to right
Tags: brainlearningmind

ShareTweetShare
Alexandru Micu

Alexandru Micu

Stunningly charming pun connoisseur, I have been fascinated by the world around me since I first laid eyes on it. Always curious, I'm just having a little fun with some very serious science.

Related Posts

Mind & Brain

Scientists Just Built a Mini Human Nervous System That Can Process Pain in a Dish in World First

byTibi Puiu
1 month ago
Health

Your Brain Hits a Metabolic Cliff at 43. Here’s What That Means

byTibi Puiu
1 month ago
Future

Human thought has a speed limit — and it’s surprisingly slow

byMihai Andrei
3 months ago
Health

Fluoride in water doesn’t affect brain development, another study finds

byMihai Andrei
4 months ago

Recent news

Japan’s Stem Cell Scientists Claim Breakthrough in Parkinson’s Treatment

May 13, 2025

Scorpion Stings Are Surging in Brazil with Sting Rates Rising 155%

May 13, 2025

Researchers Used 3D Tech to Rebuild the Parthenon’s Lighting and Discovered It Was Nothing Like We Imagined

May 13, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.