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Unpacking Your Mind 19

An important consequence is that, to ensure that your brain
is powered up, you need to give it as many new experiences as pos-
sible, as well as the time to make sense of them. Another practical
result is that, like any explorer, your brain tends to do better when
it has a map or at least knows where it is going!

2 The brain likes to make connections

As you have seen, the way that the brain learns is by making con-
nections. Axons and dendrites link together to enable meaning and
learning to flow from one neuron to another.
In fact, your brain is so good at making connections that it
will often try to fill in the gaps even when it is missing information.
You see a cat moving along behind a fence and, although part of the
cat’s body is obscured by the posts of the fence, your brain fills in
the rest and thinks it is seeing a complete cat. Or when someone
tells us a half-truth or only gives us part of the information we need,
our brain immediately starts to make up the missing bits. If you are
trying to solve a problem, this tendency is a positive one. But if you
are trying to communicate to your colleagues or family and only
give part of the story, it can lead to suspicion, gossip, and unease
for other people as their brains try to fill in the gaps.

3 The brain thrives on patterns

As your neurons establish the same or similar connections with
each other over time, so patterns are established. Pattern making is
at the heart of your brain’s filing system, its ability to make sense
of what it has learned. If you have never seen a lion, the first time
one rushes at you you may think it is some kind of horse. Assuming
you survive this ordeal, the next time one attacks you will make
yourself scarce. Your brain has noticed that a creature with a tawny
mane and a worrying roar is not going to be friendly. A pattern has
been established. All lions appearing in the future will be “filed” in
the part of the brain labeled “dangerous animals.”
Our ability to make patterns is at the heart of our civiliza-
tion. We organize our communities into houses and streets and