Our brains and learning

In our brains, upwards of one hundred billion neurons form a vast network of information pathways, intersecting at nearly one hundred trillion unique synapses. To put that number into context, consider New York City and its thousands of street crossings: the estimated number of intersections in this U.S. megalopolis still represent less than one millionth of the number of a brain's neural intersections.

As students learn something new, electric or chemical signals move from neuron to neuron, traversing a route between locations in the brain. Like a tourist turning on unfamiliar city streets, these signals cross synapses to form a path that eventually connects the source to its destination. While identifying a route is slow going at first, students' brains eventually make these connections, and learning begins. (Tony Borash at Edutopia)