“We found that if you really want a new idea to come into your mind, you need to deliberately force yourself to stop thinking about the old one,” said co-author Marie Banich, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at CU Boulder.
“Once we’re done using that information to answer an email or address some problem, we need to let it go so it doesn’t clog up our mental resources to do the next thing,” he said.
-University of Colorado at Boulder, “How can you declutter your mind? New study offers clues.” EurekaAlert. December 17, 2020.
Reminds me of the classic story of scholar Tokusan going to see Zen master Ryotan and how he kept pouring tea into his glass after it was full to illustrate how what we already know is sometimes an impediment to learning something new.
cafebedouin.org 