When you were a kid, you not only went to school, where you did academics, art, and PE, but you probably also took extracurricular lessons in music or sports, and likely even taught yourself things like how to do magic tricks. Now that you're an adult, can you think of the last new skill you learned? My guest today explains why there's a good chance that you'll struggle to answer that question, and how that's a tragedy you ought to do something about. His name is Tom Vanderbilt, and he's the author of several books, including his latest, Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning. Tom and I discuss why his daughter's desire to learn chess inspired him to spend a year learning the game himself, as well as to take on a project of learning other new skills. Tom explains the reasons adults give up learning, and why, while it is harder for adults to learn new things than it is for children, it's still worth becoming a novice all over again. We then explore how to harness the beginner's mind, using Tom's experiences in learning how to sing, surf, juggle, and draw as examples. We end our conversation with Tom's takeaways from his experiment, and how becoming a lifelong learner is really all about pushing through the mental barriers that hold us back from the many possibilities for growth that remain in adulthood. Get the show notes at aom.is/lifelonglearning.

Tom Vanderbilt, author of 'Beginners' and expert on the benefits of becoming an adult beginner, explores the power of the beginner's mind and the transformative joy of lifelong learning. He emphasizes the importance of learning new skills and discusses the significance of failure and experimentation in science. Vanderbilt offers insights on overcoming obstacles to learning and highlights the brain's capacity for lifelong learning.

Tom Vanderbilt, learning chess with his daughter kickstarted a lifelong journey of learning. The podcast discusses the benefits of being an adult beginner, the differences between adult and child learning, the emotional benefits of singing in a choir, the power of continuous learning, and the value of being a beginner.