Diffuse Mode VS Focused Mode

Submitted by personmoving t3_zye28c in books

I read A Mind For Numbers by Barbara Oakley and im still left with a couple of questions that i cant get answers to.

The book mentioned when working on an exam, try to solve the hardest problem first and then switch to the easy exercises when you get stuck. This is supposed to activate diffuse mode for the hard problem, but you are still in the focus mode for the easy exercises. Can you be in focus mode and diffuse mode at the same time? How does it work exactly? Is focused mode and diffuse mode separate for every problem?

Also am i constantly in one mode of thinking or is it only when i have read a problem?

Does it mean that most of my day i am in the diffuse mode, because im not focusing intensively on a problem but just walking around.

My theory is that the modes are separate and individual for each problem, so you could be in diffuse mode for A problem and focus mode for B problem.

I would appreciate if someone could answer some of these questions.

3

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

Catsandscotch t1_j2625v6 wrote

moving to easier problems, where you aren’t required to concentrate, is what activates diffuse mode and (hopefully) allows your brain to retrieve the knowledge you need for the harder problem. Most people move through focused diffuse mode through the day. Reading a bus schedule, focused. Washing dishes, (probably) diffuse, unless you are really concentrating on those dishes.

Check out the free class Learning How to Learn on EdX. It’s taught by Barbara Oakley and one of her colleagues. They explain diffuse and focus modes and give illustrated examples. They specifically address your example of the different modes of thinking while taking a test. I think it would clarify the issue for you.

5

TravelandBooksname t1_j26hfrl wrote

I 2nd the recommendation for Learning How to Learn. It's easily on of the most useful classes I've ever taken. Great for any age.

1

personmoving OP t1_j29dsgl wrote

Thanks for an answer! Im still confused about one part. If I switch over to the easy tasks, im focusing on the easy tasks, thus im in focus mode but im also in diffuse mode for the harder problem. Does this mean im in focus and diffuse at the same time?

1

Catsandscotch t1_j29msq8 wrote

No, when you move to the easy tasks, you are switching your focus, as you say. But because the tasks are easy, your brain is able to shift out of focused mode and into diffuse mode to perform the easier tasks. Imagine being very cold, your body tenses up, curled it into itself. But then you step into a warm shower. You may start the shower cold (focused), but you quickly warm up and your body relaxes (diffuse). You can move between the modes quite quickly. When you have the TV on in the background and are doing other things as well, you’re probably in diffuse mode, but then something you hear on the TV catches your attention and you stop everything else to watch it, you’ve shifted from diffused to focused. Diffuse mode is a lot like “zoning out” and just letting your mind wander, or like when you are performing tasks but aren’t really focusing on the task at hand (because you know it so well you don’t need to). Ever gotten home and realize you can’t remember the drive? That’s because you drove in diffuse mode (assuming you are an experienced driver and know the way home). If you are a new driver, or going somewhere you’ve never been, you’ll drive in focus mode, paying close attention, following the map directions. Anything new to you like driving, playing piano, swimming, will need focus mode when are just learning, but as you become practiced at it or know it well, you can do it in diffuse mode. You can drive home while your brain is focused on what to make for dinner, but you’re still aware of what’s happening in traffic around you. But you can also shift between modes during the drive, as needed. You may start in focus mode because it’s raining, and traffic is heavy, and you have to merge onto the freeway, so you are paying close attention, but then the rain stops and traffic eases up and you have 20 miles before you have to exit, so you’ll shift into diffuse. Don’t get hung up on the transition moments.

1

Catsandscotch t1_j29ndwg wrote

ETA: don’t conflate focused mode with focus of attention. Yes, by shifting your attention, you are changing your focus (what you are paying attention to) but that does not mean you are in focused mode thinking. If you’re the passenger on the drive, you can change your focus from the road to the sky to the trees and still be in diffuse mode thinking the whole time. Think of focus mode thinking as concentration, thinking hard.

1

Nearby-Definition-40 t1_j26apym wrote

Diffuse mode is like when you can't solve a problem by focusing so you take a break, during the break you randomly get the idea. That would be diffuse mode

1