When I first watched Pixar's short film "Piper", I was moved by its delicate and beautiful animation effects, and every frame of it was so beautiful that it melted my heart. Look again, and find that the 6-minute short film is telling a story about growing up.
01
—
ignorant mountain
In the grass by the sea, a small sandpiper waiting for its parents to feed with its mouth open. The mother in the distance insisted on letting the little sandpiper be independent, swallowing the found shells alone, and tempting the little sandpiper to go to the seaside for food.
The little sandpiper saw the attractive scenery in the distance and the ease with which his companions came and went, so he stumbled to the seaside, and learned from the flock of birds to look for shells like an adult. But there were no shells under a few water bubbles in a row, and it was hard to find one, but it was empty.
While the little sandpiper was still discouraged by the empty shell, he did not notice that his companions had begun to run back in a large scale, and greater danger was coming.
The Dunning-Kruger effect believes that when we are in a situation of "don't know that we don't know", our self-confidence will burst, we often overestimate our ability level, and we can't look at the crisis in the surrounding environment objectively. This state is called "" The mountain of ignorance ".
Behind the summit of ignorance often awaits the danger of a gigantic landslide.
02
—
valley of despair
A huge wave hit the young child, completely submerging it.
The little sandpiper was beaten by the sudden huge wave, and was in a state of embarrassment. With its fluffy feathers, it got back to the nest and shivered. No matter how much my mother persuaded, she refused to go out of the house again, and opened her mouth to feed when she was hungry.
Finally, I was attracted by a big shell, so I mustered up my courage to run forward, and was scared by a big wave that was about to come.
At this time, the little sandpiper is in the valley of despair of the Dunning-Kruger effect , knowing that he does not know, his self-confidence collapses, and he is plunged into deep self-doubt.
In life, there are often times when you try hard but are overwhelmed by the waves of life, such as failing to perform in a major exam, failing to get into your ideal school or class, being assigned a task that you have never done before, and being denied by authority about something you care about. , Others won awards but I didn't...
In these situations, sandpipers often experience the same feelings and reactions: fear, withdraw, and never dare to try again.
At this point, people with a growth mindset and a fixed mindset have different attitudes.
Use the following quiz to test common thought patterns. There are 10 questions below, you can judge whether each question is suitable for you:
- If I have to work hard for something, I'm not smart enough.
- I like to try hard things.
- I get embarrassed when I make mistakes.
- I love hearing people say I work hard.
- When faced with difficulties or setbacks in something, I usually give up.
- I don't mind making mistakes, mistakes help me learn.
- Some things I can never do well.
- Anyone can learn something if they put in the effort.
- People are born to be stupid, ordinary or smart, and they cannot be changed.
- It makes me proud to do my best, even if things aren't perfect.
Statements with singular numbers are characteristic of fixed thinking .
A fixed mindset believes that our intelligence and other qualities, abilities, and talents are fixed characteristics that cannot be significantly changed.
Statements with an even numbered question number are characteristic of a growth mindset .
A growth mindset believes that our intelligence and other qualities, abilities, and talents can be developed over time through hard work, learning, and dedication.
Most people have both ways of thinking, but perhaps one of them predominates.
03
—
Slope of Enlightenment
The turning point of things happened here, the little sandpiper met the little hermit crab and became good friends.
As the waves approached, the little sandpiper witnessed the little hermit crab burying its head in the sand to escape the surf, safe and sound. The little sandpiper observed and learned the operation of the little hermit crab, and saw the positive feedback that came from it - shell food as a reward.
When the bigger waves came, the little sandpiper imitated the little hermit crab and buried his head in the sand, facing the huge waves. When I opened my eyes underwater, I saw a magnificent army of shells.
Little Sandpiper's growth mindset trumps a fixed mindset. It got positive feedback by tremblingly trying again, learning from friends by trial and error.
In the process, its thoughts may have changed into "I just haven't done it yet, just practice more", "I can learn from hermit crabs", "I can try harder and try more", "I can Learn what I want to learn".
In a 2006 study, researchers measured the electrical activity of students' brains in a quiz:
First, they asked the participants trivial questions, the participants entered their answers, and then they were told whether the answers were true or false.
The experimenters measured the brain electrical activity of the participants and found that all the students showed high levels of attention when told whether the answer was wrong or right, suggesting that both growth and fixed mindsets care about the participants knowing the answer is right. is wrong.
Next, and interestingly, the experimenters told the participants the correct answer and their brain activation was measured.
Students with a growth mindset showed greater brain activity. Students with a fixed mindset are only interested in their own performance, not learning from their mistakes.
After a while, they did a quiz on the same trivial question, and guess what? Participants in the growth mindset group performed significantly better.
The above experiments show that students with a growth mindset pay more attention to the reasons for failure than students with a fixed mindset, and are more willing to learn from their mistakes.
Precisely because they attribute success to effort, they are more willing to increase effort to achieve higher achievement. People with a fixed mindset, on the other hand, attribute success to being smart, and in the face of challenges, they may reduce their effort in order to get a "smart, but not hardworking" rating.
The brain science explanation for the growth mindset is:
Like our muscles, our brains are very plastic. The "synapses" between neurons in the brain that transmit signals are constantly changing in response to environmental stimuli and learning experiences. New synapses are created each time new information is acquired, and synaptic connections are strengthened when prior knowledge is reviewed. (See " Learning Scientific Theory | How Learning Shapes the Brain ")
Additionally, our brains are hyperactive when we realize we have made a mistake or encountered a challenge. That is to say, making mistakes promotes the development of the brain and is a process of shaping a better self. We should change our attitude towards mistakes, from being afraid of making mistakes to being brave to try and make mistakes.
04
—
harvest plateau
After the tide receded, the little sandpiper found the shells buried under the sand one by one with the memory of underwater, so that the whole sandpiper family got rich food.
The little sandpiper has since pioneered a new way of foraging, and has grown into a self-sufficient "big sandpiper". More importantly, it beats the fear of tides.
When a new wave hits, it is always ready and calmly settles itself in the sand, knowing that the tide will recede soon and it will usher in a new harvest.
Another study showed that students with a growth mindset were three times as likely to be in the top 20% of national tests as students with a fixed mindset, and students with a fixed mindset were in the bottom 20% of grades are four times more likely than growth-mindset students.
Scientific research shows that the plasticity of the brain can last a lifetime, that is, our thinking patterns, talents, etc., can always be shaped and cultivated through training.
From the valley of despair to the slope of enlightenment to the plateau of harvest, it is also a process from "knowing that I don't know" to "knowing that I know" to "not knowing that I know". Self-confidence is built on the accumulation of knowledge and experience. More solid and stable.
On the way of growth, there will always be a wave of challenges higher than the next wave. " Playing with waves at the tide, picking up shells after the tide ", the growth of the little sandpiper is also the growth process of everyone.
This article was first published on the public account " Learning Science Cafe "
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