*I am why it is harder to unlearn habits than to learn new habits.* ##### what is it? This is the idea that the more specialized you get the less flexible you are, remember the story about learning, those that had been rewarded early did worse at learning the rules because they became entrenched in their outcomes. >“Perhaps the most spectacular example of how entrenched knowledge can block new solutions and how it can be induced experimentally was provided by Luchins (1942) in his experiment on the Einstellung effect (or set effect). Participants had to solve arithmetic problems, presented as water-jug problems, where one has to fill one jug with the right amount of water by using jugs of different capacities. The first five problems could be solved with the same solution. Problems 6 and 7, called critical problems, could be solved both by the same solution and a shorter solution. Eighty per cent of the participants used the familiar solution and failed to see the shorter one. Finally, problem 8, called the extinction problem, could be solved only with the short solution. Surprisingly, nearly two thirds of the participants could not solve the problem. This level of failure cannot be explained by the difficulty of the extinction problem, because it was solved by ninety-five per cent of the participants in a control group that did not receive the first five problems. Luchins’ study illustrates how entrenchment and the automatisation of thought might lead to unsuccessful problem solving.” (Gobet, 2017, p. 5) ##### why does it matter? This reminds me of [[Forming Habits]], and the challenge of overcoming our ways of being. >“experts, who have acquired considerable knowledge and automatised their skills, have a more rigid mode of thinking and are actually more prone to the Einstellung effect than novices.” (Gobet, 2017, p. 5) When we teach people who are well versed in something, something akin to being experts in a related area, they can struggle to change to accept new ideas. This might show up in various ways, but one way is internal friction or [[Limbic Friction]], or even identity threats that create resistance to change. As an educator, you might see that people who have entrenched skills might have a harder time learning. ##### What would the opposite argument be? Experts have seen a lot from various angles, so the challenge isn't getting them to change, but to see the value in the new way. Once they can see the value, they have the flexibility to change. tags: #note/idea | #on/learning | #on/expertise ##### Sources: Epstein, D. J. (2019). _Range: Why generalists triumph in a specialized world_. Riverhead Books. Gobet, F. (2017). Entrenchment, Gestalt formation, and chunking. In H.-J. Schmid (Ed.), _Entrenchment and the psychology of language learning: How we                        reorganize and adapt linguistic knowledge._ (pp. 245–267). American Psychological Association. [https://doi.org/10.1037/15969-012](https://doi.org/10.1037/15969-012)