I’ve begun to incorporate learning science into a broad-based theory about how I think about life. It goes like this: Just as modern assumptions about good study habits are misleading, so, too, are our assumptions about bad habits. Think about it for a second. Distraction, diversion, catnaps, interruptions—these aren’t mere footnotes, mundane details in an otherwise purposeful life. That’s your ten-year-old interrupting, or your dog, or your mom. That restless urge to jump up is hunger or thirst, the diversion a TV show that’s integral to your social group. You took that catnap because you
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