Welcome to edition #237 of the Lifelong Learning Club. I’m Eva, and each Wednesday, I share a free idea or conversation that moves learning forward.
Today, I’m interviewing Tommy Blanchard, a neuroscientist with postdoctoral training at Harvard and degrees in philosophy and computer science.
You may know Tommy from Cognitive Wonderland, where he examines curiosity and what it means to truly understand the world. In this conversation, he explains why information can become a trap—and how to build learning habits that last.
Key Takeaways
You cannot feel curious about a topic that is too opaque; curiosity requires enough conceptual scaffolding to notice exactly what is missing from your understanding
“Research shows the more we know about a topic, the more self-motivated we are to learn even more.”
Build learning habits by removing daily choice. Use fixed triggers—such as a set time after dinner—and learn with a clear question or intention.
“Even if you plan to read a book or an article, read it with a question in mind that you’re hunting for the answer to. This can be hard and might not always be possible, especially when you’re just being introduced to an area, but this is a way to actively engage rather than expect yourself to passively absorb information.”
Writing exposes blind spots passive reading hides.
“If you’re learning some skill, like programming or music, you should come up with projects that require those skills. If you’re just looking to learn something on a general topic, try writing.”
Passion follows competence. Many people grow interested in complex subjects only after they build enough skill to find them engaging.
“If you want to be the kind of person interested in a topic, you probably can be. It might take a while to nurture that interest, but if you can find a little traction getting into the topic, you might be well on your way to having a new passion—and a new expertise.”
Full Interview
Table of Contents
Curiosity Depends on What You Already Know
Knowing All the Scales Won’t Help You Hear Music
Habits, Triggers, and Questions for Learning that Lasts
Balancing Active and Passive Learning for Deeper Understanding
Your Interests Aren’t Fixed, They Follow Competence
1) Curiosity Depends on What You Already Know
Eva: I’m fascinated by how you bridge the gap between hard neuroscience and the philosophical side of wonder. Before we dive in, could you share a bit about your journey and what drives your writing?
Tommy: In Cognitive Wonderland, I mostly just write about whatever interests me. But a recurring theme is about wonder and understanding. What does it mean to understand? How does curiosity arise? How do our concepts shape how we see the world? And why do some forms of learning lead us to a feeling of wonder?
Some of the academic research I’ve done is about curiosity. What I’m curious (hah) about is how the same topic can be really interesting to some people and boring to others. Research shows that the more we know about a topic, the more self-motivated we are to learn even more. I suspect much of this is tied to curiosity.
Curiosity is often explained as a motivation to close a perceived gap in our understanding. To notice a gap, we need to have some conceptual scaffolding to see what’s missing. Without that, we don’t feel curiosity because a topic is too opaque.
2) Knowing All the Scales Won’t Help You Hear Music
Eva: From your perspective as a neuroscientist and philosopher, what are one or two common misconceptions about how learning works that even motivated adults tend to hold onto—and how do those misconceptions hold them back in subtle ways?
Tommy: One common misconception is that learning is mainly about acquiring information. Understanding requires you to have the right conceptual linkages. To learn music, for example, someone can memorize scales and chord names but still not be able to hear the structure of a song. To get a feel for how music comes together, you need to do it through immersion and exposure to examples. You need to engage with it and apply those concepts. Then, eventually, you aren’t just listening for some definition of a chord progression, but you’re able to pick up on more abstract patterns like the tension and structure of the song.
Rote memorizing facts or definitions isn’t enough to understand a topic. To really learn, you have to use the concepts you have—by trying to explain what a song is doing, analyze it, or even write one yourself. Trying to solve a problem with your current understanding requires flexible use of concepts that build the necessary connections for real understanding.
3) Habits, Triggers, and Questions for Learning that Lasts
Eva: If a curious, busy professional asked you to design a weekly learning practice that reflects how the brain changes, what would that look like in concrete, doable steps?
Tommy: I would actually be careful about drawing too much on “how the brain changes” for any kind of prescriptive learning practice. This is a bit of a pet peeve of mine, so forgive the detour, but neuroscience is generally poorly suited to answering high-level questions about how to better a particular aspect of our cognition. We just don’t understand the brain well enough for the specific biological mechanisms to be much guidance.
That aside, there are, of course, things that can be said about what helps learning; these just come from psychological studies and theories rather than neuroscience. I suspect the biggest problem for most people is getting into the habit and keeping to it.
One useful trick is to have a specific trigger for when you’ll engage in learning. For example, decide you’ll do it for an hour after you get home from work, or after dinner, or once the kids are in bed. This removes the decision of whether or when you’ll do it, and eventually it becomes automatic.
If you find it hard to start, tell yourself you’ll just do it for five minutes (even set a timer). Often, you’ll find that by the time the five minutes are up, you are in the groove and want to keep going.
Try to come up with a specific question you’re trying to answer. Even if you plan to read a book or an article, read it with a question in mind that you’re hunting for the answer to. This can be hard and might not always be possible, especially when you’re just being introduced to an area, but this is a way to actively engage rather than expect yourself to passively absorb information.
4) Balancing Active and Passive Learning for Deeper Understanding
Eva: Many learners consume lots of content but struggle to see real shifts in their thinking or behavior. In your experience, what are one or two key leverage points that help people move beyond collecting ideas to truly integrating them?
Tommy: To build on what I said: Learning actively is generally better than passively. Many people approach learning as solely a passive activity, only being active in finding resources, but then passive in how they consume those resources. Reading a book is fine, but it is better if you’re actively trying to solve some kind of problem, like hunting for a specific answer to a question.
How you do it actively depends a lot on what you’re trying to learn. If you’re learning some skill, like programming or music, you should come up with projects that require those skills. If you’re just looking to learn something on a general topic, try writing. You might find that trying to explain what you know on a topic will reveal gaps in your knowledge. We’re often blind to the gaps in our understanding unless we explicitly try to explain something.
That said, I think there’s also value in doing some passive learning. Putting on a podcast related to what you’re learning about while you do something else is a nice way to keep yourself steeped in that content. Listening to experts talk casually can reveal some tacit knowledge that’s hard to otherwise gain, and you might come across questions to later actively research. But this is a complement to, not replacement for, active learning.
5) Your Interests Aren’t Fixed, They Follow Competence
Eva: You often explore questions about mind and self. How do the stories people tell themselves—like “I’m not a math person” or “I’m a systems thinker”—shape their learning over many years? And how can someone begin updating those narratives in a healthy and empowering way?
Tommy: I suspect that when people think they lack the ability to learn math, or feel drawn only to certain styles of thinking or topics, it’s less about fixed ability and more about the conceptual tools they currently have. We’re naturally drawn to what we find interesting, and much of what we find interesting is shaped by what we already understand.
People often underestimate just how malleable their interests and competencies are. There’s a running joke about successful business people advising others to “follow your passions” only to reveal that their passion is something like supply-chain optimization or tax law. In many cases, what we’re passionate about or find interesting emerges after we’ve built some expertise in a topic.
For the lifelong learner, this is great news. If you want to be the kind of person interested in a topic, you probably can be. It might take a while to nurture that interest, but if you can find a little traction getting into the topic, you might be well on your way to having a new passion—and a new expertise.
If you liked the interview with Tommy, you might also like these articles that I really enjoyed:
Great interview! From my own experience with AI, I really appreciate how it's helping people finally confront subjects they once felt were 'beyond them' — things like math, statistics, or the nuances of grammar. In the future, this could quietly redefine what 'I'm not a math person' (or 'not a stats person,' 'not a grammar person') actually means. It might shift from 'I can't understand this' to 'I can understand it when I need to... I just don't naturally gravitate toward it.' That's a small but powerful change in how people see their own potential.
Thanks for the interview, Eva!