learning

I've been reading Netters more and more the last few days, and I've come to realised how good the book actually is. I've also started to regret why I never looked at it in the past, as it would have made things so much less painful.

The key to the ease of learning here are the pictures - they are by far the fastest way to learn, for me. In addition to this, they've also just put in the right amount of detail at each panel, so there isn't too much to digest each time. When the information does start to increase as you progress through the chapter, it also does so by building on previous concepts, and reiterating them. This way it becomes easier to retain, and also allows you to better understand the relationship between the structures, especially the new on the old. Lastly, the order in which things are presented also makes sense, as it examines the bigger picture, before delving in to the details on each section.

In summary, I think I have extracted 4 key learning principles that this book has incorporated into itself.

Firstly, a picture speaks a thousand words. This is especially true in anatomy learning, as in each panel I can immediately map out what I'm seeing and where they are.

Secondly, adding a small number of new ideas each time. I've read that we generally can only absorb 4-5 new ideas easily each time. Of course, I'm sure we could do more, but then it really starts draining the brain - its all about the functional capacity of our working memory - that's just the way we are.

Thirdly, it reiterates. This increases the chance that an item will be stored to a more permanent memory store, and therefore be able to be retained in the future. The other benefit is that by adding new ideas with old, you can fit the new into an established framework of interrelationships.

This leads on to the fourth principle, that of starting with the big picture, before focussing on the small. By doing so, a framework can be established at the start, so you konw generally what is there and what is not. Then by adding in different elements, you can always get a perspective on what they are by going back to the original big view and seeing how it all fits in.

I think from this point on though, there may still be value in reading a text based book like Lasts, but only after I've had an good understanding from Netters first, or perhaps reading them in conjunction. The value in the text based book would be the author's perspective on what specific relationships between the structures are important, which you might have to guess from the atlas. It might also have clinical surgical aspects of the anatomy that may otherwise be missed when learning on your own.