Limitations of the brain, and mind

Ever heard a piece of music, seen a piece of art, or seen a street performer so magnificent you'd think there was some kind of sorcery involved?  Wondered why you can't possibly do the same?
Well, whilst some of that might be true.  As you will never be that person, and you will never do the same movements exactly the same way, and even more importantly, you will never again be in that precise moment in time.  (Unless you take an eternal standpoint and believe in time relapsing, but then again, that would require events to happen the exact same way over again.)

However, taking a less way-over-my-head thinking point of view, the brain is an amazing thing, and the mind even more so.  They say you can't teach an old dog a new trick, however, neural connections in your brain never seize connecting in new ways, and aslong as you allow it to, your mind will always seek out new ways to perform actions.  An example of which can be found in this study performed by the Pittsburgh University:

The issue at hand is that adults think like adults.  As children we learn quicker and easier, as we think like children, and act like children.  With an open mind, a fresh view, you can learn anything regardless of age.  (Given physical conditions allow you to of course, but even those bridges are being gapped by technology.)  What's important as an adult, if you want to learn something new, is to go about it like a child.  You need to completely lose yourself in what you're doing, and don't be afraid of anything, just like a child would.  As adults we let past experiences affect how we learn new ones, as children we have too few past experiences to let them shape our new experiences.

Personally, I've been teaching myself to play the piano in my spare time, over the past 6 months.  I've unconditionally been testing and trying, purposely avoiding everything I thought I knew about music, and about learning.  Not being afraid of sounding like a complete moron hammering the keys randomly, just like most children would go about it if they got an instrument.  Today, when I sit by the piano I quickly pick up new pieces as I hear them off the radio, and play them pretty accurately both according to my own ears, and people around me.  Sometimes I improvise, but it still fits the music.  The point is, that whilst I'm still far from perfect, and still have a long way to go, I've learned to play much better then I would by following my traditional learning patterns, and I constantly learn more as I'm much more open-minded to picking up/discovering new transitions and chords.

This has led me to realise that anyone could do this, anyone could learn to play the piano given that dedicate themselves completely to it, when they sit by the piano.  When you play, it should be what you want to do for the rest of your life, you should be willing to give up everything to become the next Ray Charles, until you're done practicing for the day, when you return to the real world.  Let every session be like that, dreams are important to learn.

And that's also why adults are biologically better fit to learn new tricks then children, given that they overcome that psychological obstacle in their mind, their brain, their senses, and their body is fully developed, whilst a child will more likely have physical obstacles to overcome aswell.   Learning is not about focus, dedication and hard work.  It's about dreaming to get inspired, and chasing those dreams to become the best, fully giving into your feelings there and then.  And being able to make the transition between your dreams and your "real" life.

That's why I believe everyone can become a master, regardless of age.

- Phillip O. Sauffer