episode 264: creating exceptional children & polymaths using … · 2019-06-06 · their...

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Episode264:CreatingExceptionalChildren&

PolymathsUsingGamesofGeniusWithOpherBrayer


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Child:WelcometomyMommy’spodcast.

Thisepisodeisbroughttoyoubyoneofmyfavoritepeople,IsaHerrera,andherPelvicPainreliefsystem.Let’sberealforasecond…havingkidscanbetoughonyourpelvicfloorhealth.Andevenifyouhaven’thadachild,therearemanythingsthatcancausepelvicdysfunctionordiscomfort.Ifyou’veeverleakedurineasyoulaugh,cough,sneezeorjump,itmaybeasignthatyourpelviscouldusesomehelp.ThegoodnewsisthatthesetypesofproblemscanbehelpedandthatisexactlywhatIsahelpswomenwith!Infact,Icansaythataftercarryingsixbabies,Icanjumponthetrampolinewiththemorrunaroundtoplaycapturetheflag(orsneezewhentheybringhomeacold)withoutworryingaboutleakingurine,butIknowmanywomenwhostrugglewiththeseactivities.Ifyoueverhave,you’vegottocheckoutIsa’sfreemasterclasswhichteachesthingslike:Howtostopthebathroomtrips,improveyourposture,andputthefirebackintoyoursexywithasupereasystretch(thatyoucandoinjust30seconds,anywhere,anytime).andwhykegelsmightbecausingleakingormakingyourpelvicpressureandpainworse,howtoknowifthisisthecase,andwhattodoinstead.Evenyourdoctorwon’tbeabletosharethiswithyou.Isahashelpedalmost15,000womentofindreliefandfreedom.Claimyourspotatherincrediblefreemasterclassatpelvicpainrelief.com/healing.

ThisepisodeisbroughttoyoubyFourSigmatic,creatorofallthingssuperfoodmushroomsandfoundedbymyfavoriteFinnishFunguys.Ilovealloftheirproducts,andinfact,I’msippingtheirReishihotcocoaasIrecordthis.Thesesuperfoodmushroomsarealwaysapartofmydailyroutinewiththeircoffee+lionsmaneorcoffee+cordyceptsinthemorningforenergyandfocuswithoutasmuchcaffeineascoffeetotheirchagaandcordycepsintheafternoonforantioxidantsandimmunityandtheReishielixiratnightforimprovedsleep.Theyalsojustreleasedskincarethatsocleanyounotonlycaneatit,butit’sencouraged.Theircharcoalmaskhasactivatedcharcoaltoclarify,chagaandcacaoforanantioxidantboostandotherherbalandsuperfoodingredients.It’ssocleanthatitcanliterallybemadeintoacupofhotcocoaaswell!TheirsuperfoodserumcontainsablendofavocadoandoliveoilswithReishiandherbsforahydratingskinboost.Asalistenerofthispodcast,youcansave15%withthecodewellnessmamaatfoursigmatic.com/wellnessmama

Katie:Helloandwelcometo"TheWellnessMama"podcast.I'mKatiefromwellnessmama.com,andtoday'sepisodeisgoingtobesofascinatingbecauseIamherewithOpherBrayerwhoisaworldfamoustalentcoachandthecreatorofsomethingcalledGamesofGeniusthatwe'regoingtotalkabouttoday.In2018,hewontheTribecaDisruptionInnovationAwardforhisrevolutionaryprogram.AndhecoachesthebestandbrightestinSiliconValley.Andhehastaughtinnovationatmanyleadingcompanies,includingIBMandDisneyImagineering.HedevelopedGamesofGeniusforparentsofchildrenagesfourtoeightbecausetheeducationalsystemhasn'tchangedindecades.Andit'snotpreparingourkidsforaworldwhererobotsandAIwilloutperformhumansandreplacemanyofthejobsthatexiststoday.Andessentially,thishelpschildrenandvariousdifferentwayswe'rereallygoingtodelveintothemtoday.But,Opher,welcome,andthanksforbeinghere.

Opher:Well,thankyou,Katie.It'sapleasureformetoshare,youknow,myknowledgeandmythoughtswithmoms.AndIalsowouldlovetohearfromthemsoonaspossibletolearnmore.


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Katie:Absolutely.AndI'llmakesurewehavelinksintheshownotes,ofcourse,toeverythingthatyoutalkedaboutinthisepisodesopeoplecanfindyouandlearnmore.AndIlovethistopicsomuchbecauseI'vesaidforyearsthat,youknow,themodernworldhaschangedsomuchandeducationhasn'tchangedwithit.Andthat'sactuallyoneofthereasonsthatwechosetohomeschoolandweuseaveryspecializedsystemwithourkidsandhavetutorsthathelpwiththeideaoftryingto,like,keepthingslikecreativityandcriticalthinkingthatsometimesaren'tnecessarilyfocusedoninschool.ButI'dlovetostartoffbyfindingouthowdidyougetintothisandintoeducationingeneral?

Opher:Mydadwasateacher,soIwasborn,like,62yearsago,alittlebitmorethanthat.Andforme,educationwasapartofmylife.Andbecauseotherkidslovedmyfathersomuch,Iwasincompetition,youknow,ongettinghisattention.AndthenwhenIwasthreeyearsold,IdecidedIwanttobeateacherbecauseifIwillbeateacherIwillbeloved.Ijustdidn'tknowthatsomekidsdon'tliketheirteachers.Butforme,itwasabouthowcanIgetthelovefromthestudentslikemyfatherdid?AndIstartedtoteachmypuppetswhenIwasthreeyearsold.Istartedteachingatthreeyearsold.

Katie:Wow,that'samazing.Andthenit'sobviouslysomethingthat's,youknow,beenathemethroughoutyourlife.Isthatright?

Opher:That'swhatI'vebeendoingallmylife,eventhoughwhenIwasaconsultant,like,forCEOsofcompanies,andtheyusedtocallme,"Theteacherishere."Nobodysaidtheconsultantorthecoachoranythingelse."Theteacherishere.Hecametohelpustolearn."AndI'mnotreallyteaching,I'mhelpingpeopletoexplore.AndI'mhelpingthemtolearn,notteachingthem.Soit'snotaboutteaching.ButthisiswhatIfoundisthebestwaytolearn,byexploration.That'swhatI'vedone,youknow,allmylife.Iwashomeschooled,bytheway.

Katie:Wereyou?That'sawesome.AndI'veheardyou’recalledaneducationhackeraswell.Socanyouexplainwhatthatmeansorhowthatdiffersfromjustteaching,likeyousaid?

Opher:I'llexplain.Whenyougoandtalktogovernmentortomayorsofcitiesand/ortoprincipalsandsay,"Let'schangeeducation,"theysaid,"Yes,yes."Butthey'reafraidofchange.Theywillnotrisk.Sotheysay,"Whatworksworks,eventhoughit'snotexactlywhattheworldneeds,itstillworks.Still."Soit'seitheryoufightwiththegovernmentsoreitheryoufightwiththelocalauthorities,youknow,mayorsofcitiesoryouhackthesystem.AndsinceI'mfromIsrael,hackingispartofourlife.That'showwetakecareofourselves,likecyberhacking.Thegoodsideofcyberhacking,notthebadsideofcyberhacking.

Soformewasistofindawayhowtohackthis,thesystemsatthepointwhentheycannottellmethatI'mnotallowedtodowhatI'mdoing.SowhenIwentlikethreeyearsagototheCzechRepublictochangetheeducationsystemthere,theonlythingIaskedtheteachersis,"Doyoureallyteachthe50minutesofalessonordoyouhavelike5minutesthatyoutalktothekidslikesmalltalk?"Theysaid,"Ofcourse,wehavesmalltalk."SoIsaidtothem,"Doyouknowwhat?Insteadofsmalltalk,likegiveitthiskindofgames,playthegameinsteadofasmalltalkandlookfortheresults.Andtheresultscanbe,youknow,withinfourmonth,youhaveseenamazingresults."AndthentheEducationMinistercametomeandsaidtome,"Howdidyoudoit


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withoutourpermissionandgetresults?"Thatwasthebiggestquestion.Thatwasthepoint.Sohackingmeans,"Look,don'tchangetheeducationsystem.Stoptryingtochangeit.It'ssohardtochange.Addsomethingintoit."

Imaginelikeifyouhaveacar,okay,let'smakeananalogyforasecondandyourcarhasa200-horsepowerengineandyouspend2litersonevery,youknow,40miles.IfIdoubledtheabilityofsavingthegasoline,right,tosavethegas,andIwillenableyourcartohave...doublingthepower,todoublethepowerofthecar.Soyouwillhaveastrongercarwithlessgasbeingused."Wouldyoubewillingtogiveme$100forthis,nowyouhaveacarfor$20,000?"Ofcourse,youwouldsay,"Iwouldrathergiveyou$1,000,ifyoucanmakethiscarmuchbetterforsuchalowcostandlessinvestmentingas."Sothisisthesamething.I'mjustaddingsomethingtothesystemthatchangesthesystemtotally,insteadoftryingtochangethesystem.Noneed.Makeaslightchange,aslightchange,andthatcanchangeeverything.Youknow,therewasaguy100yearsago,heinventedthisideaof80/20rule.Andhesaid...itwasParetowashisname.Andhesaidthatyouneedtoinvestinthe20%thatcreatesthe80%oftheresults.Soforme,itwas,youknow,investingthetimeonthe1%thatcreates99%oftheresults.That'shacking.Don'tchange,don'tfight,collaborate.Makeaslightchangethatcanchangeeverything.

Katie:Thatmakessense.AndI'veheardofthe80/20principleandI'mcurioushow...likewalkusthroughalittlebitofthepracticalsideofthis.Likewhatisthismethodologyandhowdoyouimplementit?BecauseIlovethatyousayyoudon'thavetochangethesystem,itcanworkwithanexistingsystem.I'massumingwhetherit'dbehomeschoolorregularschool,butwhatdoesthesystemactuallylooklikewithinthesegames?

Opher:It'squitesimple.Ithasfourelements.Thebasicthingthatkidsdowhenthey'reborn,it'ssimple.Youjusthavetokeepitbecausetheydoit.Yousee,kidswhenthey'rebeingborn,theywanttoexploretheworld.Theyhaveallthemotivationintheworldtolearnhowtowalkandhowtotalkandhowtocommunicateandtheyhappennaturally.Youdon'thavetoconvincethem.Youdon'tsendthemtomotivationalspeakers.Okay,they'refour-month-oldandthey'retryingtolearnhowtomoveandhowtosmileandhowtotalk.Sothisexplorationisnatural.Becauseintheschoolsystems,wearelosingthisnaturalability.Wejusthavetobringitback.How?

Sowedidaresearchthelast18years.Andwewatchedkidsathometoseewhatmothersaredoingwiththekids.Wejustwatchedthem.Imean,weusedcameras.Atthosetimetherewerethebigcameras.ItwastheVHScassetteskindof.Somethinglike20,30yearsago.Andwesawacoupleofthingshappeningwhenthemotheristalkingtoachildandwesawthedevelopmentofthechildrenandwedidwithacoupleofhundredsofkids.Andthefirstthingwefoundthatkids,whattheydo,they'retryingtounderstandtheworldbydoingpatternrecognition.

Theyask,"Howdoesitwork?"SoifIhaveaLego,theylookandsay,"Oh,howdidyouconnectthosepartsthatitlookslikeahouse?Hmm,thisisinteresting."Andthentheywilltakethehowdidyoucreateit,theywillturnitintosmallparts,andtheyweretryingtobuildeither,again,thehouse,whichiscopythispatternthatthey'veseen,orsometimestheywilltrytocreateadifferenthouseoradifferentelement,let'ssay,likeacarfromthesameLegoparts.Sowesawinthevideos,hundredsofhoursofvideos,thatwhatkidsdowhen


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they'reyoung,let'ssay,betweentheageoftwotosix,theyplayLegoparts,okay,gamesofdifferentkinds,buttryingtobreakthingsandassemblethemandbreakthemandassemblethemandbreakthemandassemblethem.

Andwhatwesawthatthey'relookingforpatterns.Whentheyseeapattern,theycancopythepattern.Orifhesees,let'ssay,atrainwhenhe'stravelingwithhisparentsintheweekend,hecomesbackhome,hetaketheLegopartsandhe'stryingtobuildatrainbecausehe’sseenone,orhe'stryingtobuildsomethingveryimaginativebecausetheycanimagineanything.Nobodytellsthemnottoimagine.Sowhatkidsdo,theydopatternrecognitionnaturally.Themomentwestarttoadddatatotheirlifeintests,thenthere'snoneedanymorefortheimaginationforthem,unfortunately,andthey'relosingtheirabilitytoinnovatenewpatterns,whatwecallpatternsdesign.Lookatthepattern.Itcouldbepassivelikeanartform,itcouldbeanactivepattern,behaviorofaparent.

"You'rebreakingittoparts.Howdoesitwork?Howdoesmyparentsdoit?"Or,"Howdidyoupaintthis?"Or,"Whatisthepainting?Whataretheparts?"Andtheylookatthepatternsandbreakthemintopartsandtheydopatterndesign.Allofthese,twothings,patternrecognition,patterndesignisnaturalbeinglostovertheyearsandisthemostimportantthinginlife.Whenyoucommunicatewithnewpeople,youlookforpatterns,dynamicpatterns.Whenyouseeatechnology,you'relookingatthetechnologyasapassivepatternoranactivewhenit'sanapp."Howdoesitwork?Howdoesitwork?HowquickcanIcreatesomethingsimilar?Howdoesitwork?"Patternrecognition,creatingsomethingsimilar.It'spatterndesign.

Andallthiscomestoonepointwhichwecallcomposition.Kidslovetocompose.Theylovetocreatethingsandsay,"Mom,look,look,lookwhatI'vecreated."Andthemomthinkthatherchildisagenius.Andshe'srightbecausehe'sdonesomethingthathe'shasnotdonebeforeever,justusinghisimaginationandsomeskills,notknowledge,skillsinpatternrecognition,patterndesign.Thisisthecompositionpart.Andinordertounderstandhowthingswork,sometimesthechildwillusesomethingbeingcalledanalogy.Analogyisjust,youknow,threewords."Thisislike...""Oh,Iunderstand.It'slikeacarbutit'satrain.It'slikeacupbutit'saglass.It'slikeaforkbutyoucanuseitoutside,youknow,ifyouwanttoplantsomething.Itlookslike..."Soweuseananalogyeasilytolearnsomethingfasterbecauseitlookslikesoyoudon'thavetounderstandtoomuchofittoanalyze.

Sothisfourelements,patternrecognition,patterndesign,analogy,andwhatwecallrealtimecompositionarethenaturalelementsofdevelopmentofhuman.Ifyoulookatkids,youwillseethat'swhatthey'redoing90%oftheirtime.However,whenwestarttoteachthemandtotakethemintotestandtotesttheirknowledge,andnottotesttheircreativityandtheirabilitytorecognizenewpatternsandideasandconceptsandtechnologies,okay,that'swe'restartingtolosethemintheircreativeprocess.Thesearethefourelements,patternrecognition,patterndesign,writtencomposition,andanalogy.

Wearejustbringingbackwhatwasnaturalforthechild.Andthemomenthehasthatbackinghim,hismotivationtoexploretheworldgrowsbythousandsofpercent.Andallthegreatestinventorsofourtimehavethesefourabilities.Theylovetoexploreandthey'rehighlymotivated.LookatElonMuskandpeoplelikehim.Thesearetheleadersoftheworldandthat'swhytheydosowell.SoElonMuskwenttolookforhow


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NASAissendingarocket.Andhesaid,"Butwhycan'ttherocketscomeback?Whydoesithavetospreadintopartsintheair,youknow,intheouterspace?Iwanttocreatesomethingthatwillcomeback."

Andpeopletoldhim,"It'snotpossible."Butforachild,nothingisimpossible.Andhe'squitechildish,ElonMusk,butverymuchwhenitcomestocreation.Andthisiskindofthepeoplewholeadtheworld.Helookedatthepatternsofbehavioroftherocket.Heknowssomethingaboutscience,buthe'salsoaverycreativepersonandmadesomeanalogiestootherfieldsandrecomposedtherocketsoitcancomebackandgobackandforth,backandforth,youknow,totheouterspaceandsendsomematerialsovertherewitheverythingneedtodo.Likeatruckrocket,likeatruckthat,youknow,takethingsovertothesky.Thesearetheelements.

Katie:That'ssofascinating.AndIthinkit'sprobablyaprettyuniversalsentimentamongparentsthat,youknow,weallwantourkidstogrowuptohavecertaintraitsandtobekindandtocontributetotheworld,butalsotobeabletohavesomedegreeofsuccessinwhateverthatisintheirlife.AndsoI'mcurious,Imean,wealludedtoit,butwiththecurrenteducationsystem,notnecessarilybeingtheentiresolutiontothattypeofequationanymore.AndsoI'mcuriousifyoucanspeaktothe,like,natureversusnurturepartofthisequation.Youknow,forkids,howmuchofthisisinnatetalentorthingsthey'rebornwithversusthingsthatwecannurtureinthemnomatterwhatgiftstheymayormaynotbebornwith?

Opher:Look,therearetwopartsintothat.Look,asItoldyoubefore,patternrecognition,patterndesign,analogy,andcompositionisnatural.They'rebeingbornwithit.Withoutit,theycouldn'tlearnanewlanguageandtocontroltheirbodyandtobecomemorephysicalandeventolearnemotionalcues."Oh,myfatherislaughing,issmilingatme,""Oh,maybeIwilllearnhowtosmileback.Let'sseewhatthefeedbackwillbe."

Sothismulti-talentabilityisbynaturewe'vehadit.However,there'sanotherpart.Becauseparentsdon'tknowhowtogrowthosegeniusesmulti-talents,theydon'tknowandthey'reguessingbuttheydon'tknow,bychance,1outof1,000kids,willworkthroughtherightpathwithhismotherorhisfather.Thatisbychance.Butnobodyshowsustheprocess.Andtherefore,999outof1,000,willloseitovertime.Becausewetellthem,"Youhavetoreadandwrite.Youhavetolearnmathematics.Youhavetolearnthis.Youhavetolearnthat."Thesearethethingsthatyouhavetodo,have,have,butisitcorrectthatyouhavetodothem?Yes,ofcourseyouneedtolearnhowtoreadandwrite.Yes.Andyouhavetounderstandandphysicsandsciences.Butthequestionishowtolearnitandhowtounderstanditandhowtomakeitusefulforyou.Sonurtured,it'sbecausewelostit.Whenwewenttothekindergartenatagefiveandwewerestudyinghowtoreadandwriteandunderstandtheworldinsomewaysandtheydidn'tletustoaskquestionsanymore.Why?Becausethereare20kidsintheclass,soIamtheteacher,Iwillaskthequestions,youansweratthetestsorit'syourhomework.

Butkids,theyquestionforever.Theycanaskyouwhy20timesoneaftertheother.Theycanaskyouwhat.Theycanaskyouhow,howthingswork.Andthenwhentheygotoschool,weaskthequestions.Wedon'tletthemaskthequestions.Andtheyarelosingthisabilitytoexplorethosethingsoutthere.Andthenwhentheygrowup,we'retryingtoteachthemcreativity,whichwasnatural.Wesendthemtoreadbooksortogotoeventsaboutmotivationwithmotivationalspeakers.Forwhat?They'vehaditbeforebuttheyhavelostit.


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Theyhavelost.Sonowwehavetonurturewhatwaslost.It'snatural.Allthekidslearnhowtoworkandhowtospeakandhowtosmilenaturally.Sotheycanlearneverythingnaturally.

Butwethinkbecausewewereeducatedincertainwaythatthereareotherthingsmoreimportantthanthis.Let'sbringthembacktothenaturalstate.They'velearnedalanguageoutofnothing.TheycametotheworldwithoutknowledgeofthelanguagebecauseifthechildwasborninEnglandorthechildwasborninTurkey,itcouldbethesamechild.Butit'snotbynatureforhimtospeakalanguage,hislearninganewlanguagedependsonwhichcountryhelivesin.Soitcouldbealanguageorbehavior.Itdependsonthecontext,theabilityisthesameability,allkidshavethesameabilities.Now,itdependshowwenurtureit,whatistheenvironmentalhelivesin,whichcountry,whichcity,whicharehisfriends?Whoarehisparents?Whatdotheyknow?Dotheyknowhowtodevelopamulti-talentpersonality?Anddoparentsunderstandthathemightbemulti-talentpersonalitybecausewedon'tknowwhatwillbethejobsofthefutureanyway.

Youcanteachthemcoding,butiscodingistheprofessionof10yearsahead?Notforsure.It'sthebestprofessionnow.Tenyearsagonobodyknewthattherewillbeaprofessionofsocialmediaexperts.Andmaybein10yearsfromtoday,theywillnotbeone.MaybesocialmediawillbedonebyAIandrobots.Soitisnatural.Let'sbringitbackbecauseit'sthefastestwaytolearnsomethingoutofnothing.Andthechildislearningsomethingoutofnothing.Andlanguage,whichisoutofnothing,hislearningbehavioroutofnothing.Sodependsonwhichfamilyheisorwhichcountry.LikekidsinTurkeyandkidsinChina,theybehavedifferently.

IjustgavealectureforgraduatesinbusinessinStanford.AndIcametothiseventtospeak.AndIwasshockedatStanford,oneguywasaJewishguyfromRussia.Ninety-nineotherpeopleorwerethegraduatetherewereChinese.SothereissomethinginChinathatishappeningthatmakethemhighlymotivatedforsuccess.AndI'mnotsayingit'sgoodorbad,it'sokaybecauseIdon'tknowtheotherparts,thenegativepartsofit.ButI'msayingthatwhenyoulookatChinesepeopleandyoulookatItalianpeople,theItalianpeopleorSpanishpeople,theywantsiesta,theywanttoenjoylife.Chinese,theydon'tenjoylife,theyneedtogetsomewhere.Soitdependsontheenvironment.Butthechildisachild.

TakeaChinese,aguywhowasbornonthefirstday,sendhimtoSpainor,Idon'tknow,Venezuela,hewouldbehavedifferently,eventhoughhe'sChinese.Socanitbenurtured?Itshouldbenurtured.Istheresomethingnaturalthere?Yes.Andit'ssosimple.Wedon'thavetoseekifmychildismusicalornot.Ninety-ninepercentofthekidsaremusical.Ninety-ninepercentofthemphysicallycanbebuilttodomartialarts.Wouldtheybecomethebestintheworld?Idon'tknow.Butallofthemcandoit.Soitdoesn'tmatterwhichfieldyou'regoinginto.Itjustdependsonwhatyoudowiththetimeyouhave.Natured,natural,it'sacomposition.

Katie:Thatmakessense.Andthat'sgoodperspective.AndIlovethatyoumentionedkidsnaturallyaskingwhysomuchbecauseIhavesixkids.AndIjokeinmybiousuallythatI'mhighlyexperiencedinansweringthequestionwhybecauseIgetaskeditalotwithallofmykids.ButIalsohavealwayshadthiskindofsensethatthatwasareallyimportantteachingmomentandthatthoseweregreattimesto,like,keeptheircuriosityandtospringboardthatcuriosityintootherthings.AndmyhusbandandIhavealsotalkedalotabouthow...justlikeyousaid,likeourcareersthatwehave,youknow,ablogger,anauthor,anonlinecreator,thatdidn'tevenexistwhenIwasakid.SoIcouldneverhavethoughttobethatbecauseitdidn'texistyet.


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Andlikely,ourkidswillhavethesamepotentialintheirlifeofbeingabletobethingsthatdon'tevenexistyet.Andsohowdoyoupreparethemforaworldyoudon'tknow?Andourthoughtwasyouwanttomakethemthingslikeadaptableandabletolearnnewskillsquicklyandcreativeandlikeconnectdotswhereotherpeopledon'tseethem,whichsoundslikethesamethingyou'retalkingabout.Socanyouexplainlikeonthepracticalsidehowormaybewhatthesegamesofgeniusareandthenhowthey'rehelpingtoignitethosethingsinchildren?

Opher:I'llshowanexample,averysimpleexample.Twodaysago,IsentthosegamestoaguyinHongKongandhesaid,"Letmetrywithmykids."Igavehimlikefiveexercises,fivegames.Today,hewrotemeanemail."Youchangedmywholeperspectiveaboutmylife,likemorecreativitywithmychild."Sowhatisit?It'squitesimple.Imagine,thisisthemostimportantwordintheworld,imagine.Imagineyouhavetwopens,okay,twocrayons.Oneofthemisblack,oneofthemisyellow.Andyouholdtheminyourhands.Oneisonthelefthand,oneofthemisonyourrighthand.

Andonthewordyouwillhitforme,youknow,Iwillsaytoyouchange.Idon'twanttosayanyotherwords.Naturally,aftertwoseconds,thechildwillchangethattheyellowonewillgotothelefthandandtheblackonewillgototherighthand.Pleaserememberrighthandwaswiththeblackone.Change,probablythechildwouldchangepositions.Youdosomeotherthings.Mostcases90%ofthemchangetheposition.Now,youhavetwoelements,blackandyellow.Andnowwhenyouturnthemisyellow,black.Theyresemblepens.Imaginethatoneofthemwasbigandoneofthemwassmall.Andbothofthemwereblack.AndIwilltellyou,change.

Sowillhavebig,smallandthensmall,big.Andthechildwilltellyou,now,thebigoneisontherighthandinsteadofthelefthand.Oh,soweknowthepattern,weseethepatternoftwoelements.Wecanseeitincolors.Wecanseeitinshapes.Wecanseeitinformats.Weseeitindifferentways.Nowwilltellyougotothepiano,gotoaxylophone.Herearetwonotes.Justtwonotes.Twoblackones.Onekneweachother.Canyouplaythefirstpositionandsecondpositionlikeyoudidwithyourhands?So,black,yellow,yellow,black.Andnowthechildgoestothepianoandplaysdo-re,re-do.Do-re,re-do.

Nowhemadeananalogyfromavisualworldofcolorschangingpositionsintotwonotes.Andthenyoutakethechallengetime."Letmeteachyoumartialarts."Andhesays,"Okay.""Cool.Youcanhitme.Youknow,hitmeinmystomachlightly,please.Don'tkillme.Andmyshoulder."Sothey'retwoelements,rightandlefthand.Andthechildwilldorightintothestomachandlefthimtotheshoulder.Andthenyousay,"Change."Andhewillchangepositions,whichmeansfirsttheshoulderthenthestomach.Butifyoutellhimalsochangehands,theninsteadofleft,right,hewilldoleft,right,right,left,orright,left,left,right.

Nowwestartedthislessonlessthan40secondsago.Thechannels,toolsinmartialartsormaybefourifyouchangehands,heknowshowtomakeapatternofcolorsandshapes,bigandsmall,yellowblack,andheplaytwomelodies,do-re,re-do.Imaginethatafter7minutes,hewillbeabletodo216,toplay216melodieswith0mistakes.Andrememberwhichoneheplayedandwhichonehedidn'tplayyet.Thisisamagic,amagicalmomentforachildthatcanplay216melodies.Ifsomebodywouldhavetoldmethathecanteachme216


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melodieswithin7minutes,Iwouldnotbelievehim.Mathematically,it'spossible.Sowenurturethemathematicalbraininsteadofteachingalgebra.

Youstarttoseepatternsinmathematicalforms.Thepointisthatit'sveryhardtoteachmathematicsbecausemathematicsisabstract.Andchildrenlovetouseimaginationatleastuntiltheageof11whentheystarttocompletelyloseitbecauseoftheeducationsystems,mostofthem,notallofthem.Butsadly,thenext7minutes,I'mlearningtodo216movesinmartialarts,andthenthenext7minutesto216drawingsofshapesofpatternsonacup.After21minutestodoallthis,it'sbasicallydoingtheimpossible.Youhavetoseethefacesofchildrenplayingsomuchmusicanddrawingsowellafter20minutes.Youshouldseethefacesoftheparents.Theyruntobringtheircamerasimmediately.TheywanttosendittograndmaandtofriendsandtheygototheFacebook,"Lookatmychild.Sevenminutesago,heknewnothingaboutthepiano.Hecanplay216melodies.Mychildisaprodigy."

Andit'sjustaskill.It'snotknowledge.Thisisjustaslightexampleoutof14,400games.Butit'snotaboutthe14,400.Why?Becauseoftentimestheirparentswhowilluseitalsoinhiswork,bytheway,naturally,besideswiththeirchildrenintheirhome,itwillcomeandlanguageathome.Iftheygotoarestaurant,theywillthinkhowtodesigntheplate.Whenthey'retravelingsomewhereandtheywilllook,it'safieldwithflowers,andyouwillstarttoseepatterns.Andtheygohomeanddopatterndesignwithflowers.Like,youknow,likeaflowershop.It'severywhere.Itbecomesnatural.It'spartoflife.Andifyoucanseepatterns,andyoucanseepatternsinmarketing,inbranding,intechnology,becauseit'sallaboutpatternrecognition.Soallthosegames,simplegames.However,ifyougotogamenumber2,000,now,youwillnotbeabletodoit.Butgamenumber2,000isaseasyasnumber1ifyoufollowallofthemasasequence,1,2,3,4,5until2,000.Youcangetto2,000gamesinlessthanayear.AndyourchildwillbeabletolearnpatternsinhistoryinclassorEnglishlessons10timesfasterthanhisfriends.

Katie:That'ssoincrediblethatit'salmostlikeunfathomabletounderstandandIwillofcourseputlinksintheshownotessopeoplecanactuallyexperienceandtoseeitbecauseittrulyisastounding.Sohowarethesemostoftenimplemented?Arethesetypicallydonebyparentsorareschoolsystemsnowimplementingthis?Andkindofwhat'sthebestwayandageandtimingtoimplement?

Opher:Theagecouldbeathreeyearsoldandabove.Butifyoutakeinsixyearsold,hewilllearnitveryfast.Kidswhoare12yearsold,inthebeginningtheygoslowerthanthekidswhoare6yearsold,butwithin2weeks,theybecomefasterthan6yearsold.Butwhy?Becausethey'veseenmoreintheirlivesortheyhavemoredatathatcanbeusefulforthiscreativity.However,theimplementationwasdoneintwoways.Wedoitincoupleofcountries.Onewayiswegotoschoolsystems,wetrainteachers.Andaftertheteacherunderstandthelanguageandknowhowtospeakthelanguage,hewillgointoclassandrecreatehisownlessonplans.Likeyouwilldo,bytheway,ortheparents,youwillcreateyourownlessonplans,youwillbeabletodothis.Okay,it'slikeaplatformforyou.

Now,intheschoolsystemsthattheteacherisgettingintoclass,playagamebetweenthreetosevenminutesandthensheteaches,youknow,thesubject.Thatcouldbehistory,itcouldbeEnglishclass,oritcouldbemathematics.Sotoplayagameatthebeginningofclass,everyhour,theresultsarephenomenal.WehavenowintheCzechRepublic2,000kidsgoingintothisprocesswith80teachers,andit'sgrowingfast.Andthe


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resultsarephenomenal.Unbelievableresultsthattheyhave.Andit'stheteachersthatdoit.Withparents,it'squiteeasy.Andyougetallthevideos,youjustfollowthem,watchthevideo,dothegame,watchthevideo,playthegame,watchthevideo,playthegame.That'sit.Youplaythegameandthechildplaysthegame.Bothofyouhavetoplaybecauseyouhavetospeakthesamelanguage.Andyouhavetobecomeamodelforthechild.Althoughovertimethechildwillbecomeyourmodel.

Now,whenyoudoitonceadayforsevenminutes,theabilitiesincreativityandinunderstandingconventionalsciencesandtechnologyandstuffwillgrowby2X,right?Likeby100%.Ifyouplaytwogamesperday,youdoublethespeed.Ifyouplaythreegamesperday...Icantellyouthatwhatwe'veseenthatmanyparentsstartedwithonegameeveryday,sevenminutesgotoachild,that'sit.It'sanexcitingmomentfortheparentsandthekids.However,thekids,theycreatethedemand."Canweplayanotherone?Canweplayanotherone?Canweplayanotherone?"Andsuddenly,youcanseethemat6yearsoldchildplayingwithabrotherwhois12yearsold.Becauseit'sthesamegameforbothofthem.

Now,thisbecomesacommunicationsystemathomeandyoustarttoseepatternsallthetimeandexploringallthetime.Soforparents,youcandoitonceaday.Youcanitdoinbreakfast,ifyouhavethetime.Youcandoitintheweekend,likeforonehourplayingthosegames.It'sbetterifyoudoiteverydaybecausethebraincanaccumulateitself,youknow,andsinkintothiskindofthinking.Soit'sbettertodoeveryday.Ifyouskiponeday,itdoesn'tmatter.Andifthekidswanttodoatwoorthreeorfourofthemperday,anditcanbecomeevenaniceeveningathomewhenyouwouldplayandrippingotherpeople.Andwebringgrandmaandgrandpaorifwecanmeetwiththemsometimesfortheweekendoronvacation,andplayitallaround.Andbecauseitcanbeplayedanywhere,anytimewithanymaterialsthatyoufindinnatureeven,thenitbecomeseasy.

Icantellyouthatkidsfallinlovewithitandforagoodreason.Thatimmediatelytheycanshowhowsmarttheyaretothemselves.Andalsoget,youknow,recognitionfromtheenvironment.Becausegettingrecognitiononlyfromparentsisnotgoodenough.Ifyou'renotgoodatsomething,ifyourparentsaretellingyouthatyouaregreat,you'redeceivingthem.Theyknowthatthey'renotgood.However,ifthey'regoodanddon'tunderstandthatit'sgood,thenyouhavetohelpthem.Butwhatifthey'regoodandyou'retellingthemthatthey'regood?That'sthebestwaytogo."Oh,thisiswonderful.Howdidyouplaythosethings?"

Nowtheygointoachessboardandsuddenlytheycanseepatterns.Theycanfollowyourpatterns.Theycandeceiveyouintogame.Theycanfindnewwaystoplaythegame.Theygointothekitchenwithmomandsay,"Mom,butcanwecookitthiswayinsteadofthisway?"Soit'severywhere.Sothemomentyoudoit,like,twogamesperdayorthreegames,itwilltakeyouaround20minutes.SoIbelievemostpeoplewouldlovetodevote20minutestocoachtheirchildrenforthiskindofbrain.However,itwillbecomenaturalsoyouwillplaythegamewithoutnoticing.Whenyou'retraveling,whenyou'regoing,whenyou'remeeting,whenyou'rehome,whenyou'recooking,whenyou'redoingotherthings.

Soovertimeafter,like,threemonths,itbecomesnatural.Soyoucontinuewiththegamesbecausetheyteachyouthenextlevel,thenextstageofdevelopment.Again,becauseit'salwayskindoftryingtotakeyoutothenextlevelbutitbecomesnatural.SoI'veseenparentsjustdoingthisalldaylong,atwork,onSkype,ontheWhatsApp.Callingtheirkids,"Hey,Isawthis..."Ortheytakevideosoflikepatternsofcarsorlikeona


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highway.Andkidslookatthepatternsofthebehaviorofcars,howtheymove.Soitbecomesalanguage.Buttotalthreegamesperdayisplenty.

Thisepisodeisbroughttoyoubyoneofmyfavoritepeople,IsaHerrera,andherPelvicPainreliefsystem.Let’sberealforasecond…havingkidscanbetoughonyourpelvicfloorhealth.Andevenifyouhaven’thadachild,therearemanythingsthatcancausepelvicdysfunctionordiscomfort.Ifyou’veeverleakedurineasyoulaugh,cough,sneezeorjump,itmaybeasignthatyourpelviscouldusesomehelp.ThegoodnewsisthatthesetypesofproblemscanbehelpedandthatisexactlywhatIsahelpswomenwith!Infact,Icansaythataftercarryingsixbabies,Icanjumponthetrampolinewiththemorrunaroundtoplaycapturetheflag(orsneezewhentheybringhomeacold)withoutworryingaboutleakingurine,butIknowmanywomenwhostrugglewiththeseactivities.Ifyoueverhave,you’vegottocheckoutIsa’sfreemasterclasswhichteachesthingslike:Howtostopthebathroomtrips,improveyourposture,andputthefirebackintoyoursexywithasupereasystretch(thatyoucandoinjust30seconds,anywhere,anytime).andwhykegelsmightbecausingleakingormakingyourpelvicpressureandpainworse,howtoknowifthisisthecase,andwhattodoinstead.Evenyourdoctorwon’tbeabletosharethiswithyou.Isahashelpedalmost15,000womentofindreliefandfreedom.Claimyourspotatherincrediblefreemasterclassatpelvicpainrelief.com/healing

ThisepisodeisbroughttoyoubyFourSigmatic,creatorofallthingssuperfoodmushroomsandfoundedbymyfavoriteFinnishFunguys.Ilovealloftheirproducts,andinfact,I’msippingtheirReishihotcocoaasIrecordthis.Thesesuperfoodmushroomsarealwaysapartofmydailyroutinewiththeircoffee+lionsmaneorcoffee+cordyceptsinthemorningforenergyandfocuswithoutasmuchcaffeineascoffeetotheirchagaandcordyceptsintheafternoonforantioxidantsandimmunityandtheReishielixiratnightforimprovedsleep.Theyalsojustreleasedskincarethatsocleanyounotonlycaneatit….Butitsencouraged.Theircharcoalmaskhasactivatedcharcoaltoclarify,chagaandcacaoforanantioxidantboostandotherherbalandsuperfoodingredients.It’ssocleanthatitcanliterallybemadeintoacupofhotcocoaaswell!TheirsuperfoodserumcontainsablendofavocadoandoliveoilswithReishiandherbsforahydratingskinboost.Asalistenerofthispodcast,youcansave15%withthecodewellnessmamaatfoursigmatic.com/wellnessmama

Katie:Ithinktohelppeopleunderstandalittlebitmoretoo,thisisnotlikeyourtypicaljustonlinevideogame,right?LikeIknowalotofparentsarefamiliarwithsomeofthoselikeABCmouseorthesedifferentonlinelearninggamesforkids.SoI'dlovetohear,A,kindofyouropinionofthosekindofthings,butalsojustmaybedifferentiatealittlebitmorethenatureofthesegamessoparentscankindofunderstandhowtheywillimplementit.

Opher:Iwill.Firstofall,youknow,theysaythatifyouhaveascreenandyouworkwithascreen,it'sinteractive.I'msorry,I'mtalkingaboutrealinteraction.Notwiththescreenbutbetweentwohumanusingphysicalthings.It'sverynicetodriveonanXboxacar.Butitdoesn'tmeanyou'dbeabletodrivethecaroutsidethehouse.BecauseinXboxyoucanmakeanaccidentandnothingwillhappentoyou,inreality,ifyouhavethiskindofanaccident,itwillbeadisaster.Sowhenwetalkaboutinteractivegames,itmeanslike,let'splaytogetherphysically.Andthatalsohelpsustoperformcommunicationaroundit.It'snot,like,IwasplayingonmycomputerfortwohoursandthenI'msharingwithmyparentswhattheywentthrough.


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No,we'resharingnowinrealtime.Wecomposeinrealtime.We'replayingthegamerealtime.Welookateachothers'eyes.Weenjoy.Wehavefuntogether,notaloneinfrontofascreen.Infrontofascreen,there'salotofloneliness,evenifyouplayagainstotherkidsinotherplacesonthescreen,you'restilllonely.Soinfightingthisloneliness,whichisoneoftheproblemsofoursociety,wemakeeverythinginteractivebecauseweneedthebrainandthebody,okay,andthemindtobeconnectedwelltoeachotherdoingthosethings.Youcan'tthrowaballoninteractivegame.Butit'snotlikeholdingtheballandthrowingit.Notintobrain,notinyourbody,notdevelopmentofyourbodyandnotdevelopmentofyourbrain.Thereareotherpartsofthebrainthatworkwhenyou'removingphysicallytodevelopthebrain'sability.

Sowecangolikethis.Wecantaketwoshapes.Likewetaketoolikeaboxorpickanything.YoucanpickaniPhoneandapen.Andwestarttoseecombinations.Differentkindsandplaywiththem."Hey,look,hey,thislooklikethis,thislooklikethis."Wewillstarttomakeanalogiesimmediately.Theycompose.Agameisafamilyofcomposers.Andthenwesay,"Okay,let'smovetothepianonowandseewhatwecandoonthepiano."Forthechildtodosomething,I'mdoingsomethingandthenthey'regamesthatwedotogether.Anditsoundsbeautiful,bytheway.Itsoundslikethey'remusicians.Butwe'renotteachingyoutobecomeamusicianandnotadesigner.

Sowemovefromdesigntomusic,tomusictomartialarts.Andeachoneofthemisuptosevenminutes.Becausethereasonisnottheafter-schoolactivities,itisjustthetoolthatwe'reusing.Andthenwecanmovetochoreographyandthenballetdancing.Andthenweplaychessandthenwegotocook.Andthenwedootherthings.Andwecanmovefromonefieldtoanother.AllthegamesI'vedesignedarearound14fields,butitcanbeusefulinotherfields.AndthenwecangoalsototheXboxandstarttoseepatternsduringplaytogether.

Andnowwhat'shappeningthatarethroughthoseseriesofafter-schoolactivities,let'scallthem,okay,thoseformsofartsandsportsandbraintriggers,westarttodevelophighlevelimagination.Butalsothereareotherthingsthatarebeingdevelopedintogame,whichareimportanttoknow.Oneistheengineer'smind.Why?Becauseweconstructallthetime.Webuildsomethingnew.Therearetwootherthingsinthosegamesthatarehappening.Youknowthisguy,Steve?Youknow,Steve.I'lltellyouinasecond.Didyounoticehisfriend,otherfriendwascalledSteve?

Theychangedtheworld.TheyinventedtheiPhone.Highlyimaginativemachineatthosetimes.Didyouknowthatyoucanmoveyourfingeronitandpushthingslikeinabook,youknow,andmovethemaround?SteveJobsandSteveWozniak.Oneofthemcamefromdesign.Hewasadesigner.Theotheronewasanengineer.ImaginethosetwoelementsofSteveJobsandSteveWozniakinthebrainofonechild,oneisimaginativeandartisticandotherpartinthebrainisengineer.Soallthosegamesarecreatingthesekindofelements.Okay,thiskindofskills,imaginationandengineeringatthesametime.Soitdoesn'tmatterwherewemove.Soyouwanttopatternswithflowers,it'sfine.Ifyouwanttodosomethingelse,ifyouwanttolearncoding,youwillstarttoseepatternsimmediately.Andyoucreateagamebycodingsomething.

Thebasicelementisdesignedindifferentfields.Thedesignofthecombatinmartialarts,real-timedesign.Thedesignofimprovisingmusic.It'sdesigned.It'sareal-timedesign,real-timecomposition.Sowegothrough


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thesegamesandeverydayweexplorenewabilities,becausethespanofattentionofkidsisprettylong.Andtheyneedtomovefromonefieldtoanothereverycoupleofminutes.Soiftheydoitnaturally,anyway,whydowemove?Butonthebackofit,there'sonesystemthatthey'relearning.Soit'sthepatternsinartsandinmusicandincooking,andinchessthatarethesame.Suddenly,wehaveonebrainthatcanbeusedwithalltheseskillsintoallprofessionsintheworld.Thesearethegames.

Katie:It'ssoamazingand,Imean,it'sclearhowitcanpreparethemforawiderangeoffutures,andinasomuchmorepracticalwaythanjuststrictlyliketestingandschooling.ButIamcuriousbecausewhenyoumentionedpatternrecognition,forinstance,andanalogy,likethosearethingsthatareverycommononIQtests,andalsowhenItooktheMensatest.SoI'mcurious.DoesthathaveaneffectonintelligenceorIQ?Iknowthatwouldn'tevennecessarilybethegoal,butI'mjustcuriousifthere'sapassiveimpact.

Opher:Letmetellyouastory,wedidnotdoanyacademicresearchonit.However,wedohaveresults.Sowhenwestartedintoit,wedoitinIsrael,CzechRepublic,youknow,inSingapore,andmanycountries,butit'sCzechRepublicwherewestarted.Therewasateacherthatisteachingretardedkids.RetardedmeansIQof50.AndpleaserememberthatretardedkidsneverraiseIQ.AndonedaytheteachercametoclasswhenIwastrainingthem,theteachers.TheseareteachersthatIwastraining,notmytrainers.ThesewerethefirstpeopleItrainedintheCzechRepublic.

Andshe'sanexpert.Shelearnedallthecoursesintheworldandallthebooksbypsychologistsonhowtodealwithretardedkids,orwhatwecallunfortunatekids.Andoneday,shesaidtome,"Opher,wouldyoucometoseemyclass?"Isaid,"Sure,I'lltravelthere."Itookthetrain.Ihadtotraveloverthere.Icametotheclassandshesays,"Youseethisgirl,fourmonthsagobeforewestartedtoplaythegames,likethreeorfourtimesaday,thisgirldidn'tknowhowtocountfrom1to10andsheis11yearsold.Fourmonthslater,shecouldcountto10,000.Andshecandoaddingandsubtractingwhichshecouldn'tdobefore.Wesawhowitwasdevelopedbyyourgames."Andsomeofthegamesthatshecreated,becauseit'sanopensource.Soyoucancreateyourowngame.Soshecreatedherowngamesbasedonthesamemodel.

Thensheshowedmetheothergirl."Lookather.She's12.Shecanread,"shesaystome."Shecanspeakquitenicely.Shecanwritewords.However,shewasnotabletoevertocomposeasentence.Nowshewritesstoriesandpoemsformytheater."AndthenIdidn'tknowbutshedidanIQtesttothekids,becausetheyhavetodoeverysixmonthsIQtestforsomereason.Idon'tknow.It'sthelaworsomething.Shesaid,"Opher,allthekidsraiseIQbetweenfourtosevenpoints,whichisalmostimpossibleforaregularchildtogothrough.Nevertheless,youknow,retarded."Lastnight,Ihadawebinarwiththem,withtheteachers.Andshetoldmethatoneofthosekidsonthisclass,they'relike11kidsinthisclass,wentthroughatestthattheyhavetodoeveryyear.Andthetestcame,declaredthatheisnormalnowandnotretarded.Andshesays,"It'sonlyaboutthegames."

SoIrememberacoupleofmonthsagowhenshetoldmeaboutthosetwogirlsthatcouldn'treadanddomathematicsandsheaskedme,"Opher,howdoesitwork,thissystem,onthiskindofkids?"AndIsaid,"Oh,Susanna,Ihavenoclue.Ihavenoideahowdoesitwork.Butletmeaskyouaquestion.DoyouhaveaniPhoneandyouuseiteventhoughyoudon'tunderstandhowitworksanditworksgreat.Justcontinue.Ihavenoanswer."Ididasksomeprofessors.Okay,oneofthemfromMITaboutthosegames,aboutthetestand


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theysaidthatwhatthegamesaredoing,theycreateanewconnectionsinthebrainthathavebeenlost.Butit'snotacademicallyresearched.Theresearchwillbedoneprobablynextyear.Fornow,whatIcantellyou,weseetheresults.

Weseeclassesofkids,ofunderdevelopedclass,notretarded,but,youknow,kidswithissues.Sevenkidsforoneclasswenttocompetitioninsciences.ItneverhappenedinthosekindsofclasseseverbeforeintheCzechRepublic.Usually,it'sthekidsfromthegiftedclasseswhowentliketwoorthreeofthemforacompetition.CanIexplainexactlyhowitworks?No,butitworks.So,yes,I'msurethatifsomebodywouldgotoaMensatest,I'msure,Idon'tknow,Icannotpromise,afterplayingoneyearofthis,itwouldbeeasierforhimtoshowimprovementinIQ.AlthoughIQisnotthemostimportantpartinourlife.We'lltalkaboutthatbytheendofthiscall.

Katie:Yeah,Ithinkthat'sahugepointaswell.Anddefinitely,I'mgladthatyoubroughtthatbackup.That'sjustonemeasureandIagree,notthemostimportant,especiallywhenwe'retalkingaboutlongtermsuccessforourkidsandthethingsweactuallyhopetheyenteradulthoodwith.Ithinkthat'sareally,reallyimportantpoint.I'mcurioustoo,becausethere'salotofparentslistening,canthesegamesbehelpful?Youmentionedevenlikea14-year-oldkidcouldlearnthem.Cantheystillbehelpfulforolderchildrenoraretheyreallyjusteffectiveinthatfourtoeight-year-oldrange?

Opher:They'reeffectiveforeveryage.I'veseenkidsof17yearsoldmovingsofastunbelievably.Theycanfinishthosegameslikeeatingrice.One,two,three,four,five.Theymovefast.Isithelpfulforthem?Letmegofurtherthan17yearsold.I'vetrainedpeopleinmycountryforaspecialunitintheIsraeliarmy.It'sthecyberunit.Manyofthemwereacceptedtothisunit,whichishardtogettothisunitbecauseit'sthehighlyqualifiedintelligentkids.ButIwasn't…whenIwasworkingfor...whenIdidtheseworkshopsforDisneymanyyearsago,someofthepeoplethataskedme,"Youknow,Opher,canwegoliketo..."peoplethattheyknewinOrlando.Andtheysaidtome,"CanwegotoMiamitoanelderlyhouse?"

I'mgoingtothiselderlyhouse.Igoupthere,doaworkshopwiththesegames.Theseare80-yearsoldkids.Eightyyearsold.Andweplayedthegames.Andsuddenlyoneofthem,hewenttothedoor,heclosedthedoorlikeaninety-years-oldguy.Closedthedoor.Hewenttothewindow,itwasthe14thfloor,orsomething,Idon'tremember.Hethrewthekeysoutsidetotheswimmingpool.Andhetoldme,"Mr.Brayer,we'reallmillionaires.You'renotgoingfromherebecausethisisexactlywhatourbrainneeds.Don'tgofromhere."Aftertwohours,wecanfeelthatthebrainstartedtoworkagain.

So17yearsold,theywouldlovetodoit.It'sevenbeautifulbecausethe17yearsoldwouldlovetoshowittootherkidswhoare6yearsoldand5yearsoldandplaywiththem.Thisinteractive,reallyinteractivegame,it'sagameforeveryone.I'vedoneitforcompanies,youknow,likeMicrosoftandplayingthosegames.Andpeoplewereabletoseehowtodopatternrecognitioninbusiness,inmarketing,insales,innetworkingeasily.Soifyouhaveachildof17yearsold,lethimleadthegamesathome,becometheleader,playthegameswiththekids.Imean,ifyouhaveotherkidsand…There'snooneintheworldthatdoesnotneedtoworkonthispatternrecognitionandpatterndesignabilitiesandtousehishighlyimaginativebrain.Noone.


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Katie:Yeah,that'swonderful.Andyeah,I'msoexcitedtocontinuethisjourneywithmyownkids.Andtherearealotofparentslisteningbothhomeschoolingparentsandworkingparentswhoprobablyarewantingtofigureout,likehowtoimplementthisintheirownlife.AndI'llmakesurethatlinkisintheshownotesaswell,buttospeakespeciallytothehomeschoolingparentsforaminute,I'dlovetohearyourthoughtsonifyoucouldkindofcreatewhatyouwouldconsideranoptimallearningenvironment,oranoptimaleducationtypesystemingeneral.Obviously,itwouldincludethesegames,butdoyouhaveanyotherinsightsofwhatkindofenvironmentitwouldbeorotherfactorsthatcouldhelpkidsinvariousways?

Opher:Therearemanythingsweneedtoteachourchildren.Butlet'sstartfromthebeginning.Wetalkedaboutpatternrecognition,patterndesign,andanalogy,andwrittencomposition.Wedevelopimaginationsystem,engineeringabilities,andresearchanddevelopmentabilities,whichwehaven'ttalkedyetabout.Weteachchildrenhowtoresearchandhowtodevelopsomethingoutofit.Nottomakearesearchforthesakeofresearch.Imagination,engineering,research,anddevelopmentarethepartsthatcreatedtheiPhone.

Inasecond,Iwillexplaineverything.SteveJobs,SteveWozniak,imaginationandengineeringwhentheymeetup.TheyformedateamofresearchanddevelopmenttocreateiPhone,right?Allthisinoneperson'slifecanhelpustousethesefourelementsofanalogywithacompositionandstuffandusingthesesourcesofimagination,engineering,research,anddevelopmentintothefieldsthatIbelievearethefieldsofthefuture.Arts,sowhateverartisticthingyoudoathome,bringtheanalogyofintegralpositionintoit.Youmustteachyourchildrentounderstandtechnologybecausetheseareourpartnersforlifeatleastforthenext15to20years.

Soiftheyneedtolearncoding,orengineering,orelectronics,oranythingelse,weneedtoteachthemsciencesbecausewhenyouwanttobuildaniPhone,youneedtounderstandchemistryandphysicsandotherthings.Andwehavetoteachthemalsoeconomics,becauseeconomicsisapartofthebusinessoflife,ofsaving,ofinvestments,youknow.Sowhenwetakethewholepictureofarts,science,technologicalskills,sciences,sciences,arts,technologicalskills,andeconomicstogetherwiththeseskillsofimagination,engineering,researchanddevelopmentandwiththesourcecodeofanalogy,patterndesign,andwrittencomposition,theneverythingthatyouteachathome,teachthemtechnology,theyneedtoknow.Teachthemarts,theyneedtoknow.Teachthemsciences,theyneedtoknow.Teachthemeconomics,theyneedtoknow.

Andifyouconnectallofthemthroughthosefourelementsindevelopingimaginationandtechnology,imaginationandscience,imaginationandeconomics,imaginationandarts,engineeringandtechnology,engineeringeconomics,engineeringinsciences,engineering,andarts,researchinarts.Wedoresearchinart.Inordertocreatesomethingnew.Andifyoudoresearchandtechnology,researchandscience,okay,researchandeconomics,developmentofartsinyourartforumornewdesigns,thedevelopmentoftechnology,developmentofneweconomicalmodels,developmentofsciences,it'soneworld.Soifthereisaplanathometoteachourchildrenaboutsciences,arts,technology,andeconomicsthroughthesefourelementsofimagination,engineering,development,andresearchthroughthegamesofanalogy,pattern,design,andwrittencomposition,thechildwillbecomeapolymaththinker.Thesearethenextcenturyinnovators.


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IfyougotoWikipediaandyoureadaboutpolymath,likepolyandmathematics,polymaththinking,youwillbesurprisedthatthiswasdevelopedmorethan600yearsago.Andsomeofthemostamazinginnovatorsoftheworldhavebeenthesepeople.Andsincetheworldisaboutinnovationandsinceeverythingelsewillbedonebymachines,wecanconnectthoseelementsintoonelanguage,teachthemsciences,teachthemtechnology,teachthemeconomics.Inourmodelof12-yeardevelopmentofchildrenfortheschoolsystemsaswellasinthelongtermfortheparents,wewillcombineeverythinginside.

Fornow,we'redoingjustthearts.Butthenweconnectitintotechnology,intosciences,intoeconomics.Andthegamescontinuetohelpthechildtobeabletoinnovatebytheageof11.Imean,scientifically,doingtheworkofinnovation,notagameofcreativity.Sojustconnectallthedotsbecauseit'sallone.Soallthesefourelementsshouldbearoundalltheseareasofart,science,technology,andeconomics.However,there'sonethingweneedtounderstand.Themomentwedevelopasmarthuman,weneedtodevelopagoodhuman.Wedon'twantthechildtobehighlyintelligent,abillionaire,leadingtheworldoftechnologyandscienceandeconomicsandhaveabadheart.

Soinoursystem,wealsocombinetheseelements,whichisnotonthisfirstcourse,butit'sonthenextcourses.Howtomakethischildbecomingthemostsuccessfulonearthandhowtobringeverythingbacktosocietybecausethisiscrucial.Ifthechilddoesnothavetheheartofacompassionateperson,it'dbeusedinabadway.Sooverthetime,weworkonthatparttoo,beingcompassionate,thinkingaboutothers,thinkingaboutthepoor.Andhow,notbythinking,bytakingaction,andcreatinginnovationsthatwillhelptechnologies,whatever,thatwillhelpthepoorpeopletosurvive,togrow,tolearn,tobecomelikeus.

Katie:Wow,yeah,that'samazing.AndIthinkthatistrulythekeyattheendthatyoumentionedisalsomakingsurethattheyhavegoodheartandkindnessandadesiretohelpothersthatthatabsolutelyisthekeyorelseyoucouldbecreatinganevilgeniusofsort.So,Ilovethatfocus,it'ssoimportant.

Opher:Youknow,IcomefromaJewishfamilybecauseIliveinIsraelandmyparentsranthroughtheholocaust.Theguywhokilled6millionJewsandanother13millionRussiansandanother...okay,IwillnotmentionhisnamewhocamefromGermany,basically.Thisguywasbrilliantbutsomean.Wedon'twantthesekindofkids.Therearedestroyersintheworld.They'reminoritybuttherearealotofdevelopersintheworld.Andwewantourchildrentobethere.

So,like,intheschoolsthatweareworking,weteachthemhowtotakecareoftheirenvironmentandthelocalneighborhoodanddothingsfortheneighborhoodtoenableoldpeople,orretardedkids,orpeoplewithAsperger'stocommunicatebetter.Weteachthemhowtocreatethethingsthatwillnotbeformoney.Theyneedtocreatesomething.Theyneedtodosomething.Theyneedtotakeactiontounderstandcompassion,nottolearnaboutit.Sothisispartofthework.

Katie:Ilovethat.AndIcan'tbelievehowquicklyourtimehasflownby.Iknowthatyouguyshavecreatedaspeciallinkforanyonelistening.It'llbeintheshownotesaswell.Butit'sgamesofgenius.link/wellnessmama.Butcanweendonapracticalnote?Ifpeoplewanttostartwiththis,andIknowthatI'mdoingitandI'm


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fascinatedbyit,butifotherparentswanttogetinvolved,orparentswanttogettheirschoolsinvolved,howcantheydothatandkeepintouchwithyou?

Opher:It'squitesimple.Iansweremailseveryday,around200emailsperday.Justwritetome.Justwrite.Tellmeyourneeds.Wemanageithereintheoffice.Likeifit'slikearegularanswer,like,thatcanbeansweredsoitwillnotbeme.Butifit'sarealquestion,howtogetitintoschool,weknowhowtogetitinschools.Yes,wewanttogetittotheschools.Wewantittobeinschoolsandathome.Soyoujustwritetometoopher@stages.global.That'swhereIanswer.Andtherestofitifyoujustgoinandyoustartthecourseandyoudownloaditandstarttoplaythegamesandyouhavequestions,wewillhaveaFacebookpagewhereyoucananswer,askmequestions,andyoucantalktome.

I'mthereandI'mtryingtobethereasmuchasIcantoreallysupport,toanswerthequestionsandtolearnandtotakeeveryproblemthatweneedtofaceandhowtofaceitandhowtodoitbecausechildrenaredifferentandenvironmentsaredifferent.Soit'squiteeasy.Wearethere.Wehaveawholeteamandpeoplewillansweryouandworkwithyou.Andifithastobeme,don'tworry,IdoansweralotofemailsandonFacebook.

Katie:Amazing.AndyouguyswillfindmeinthatFacebookgroupaswell.It'sfascinatingthesegamestrulyare.They'refunforparentsaswelllikeyousaid.Andthelinkisgamesofgenius.link/wellnessmama.Andthatwillbeintheshownotes,atwellnessmama.fmalongwithsomeadditionallinkstothingsthatwetalkedabouttoday.Butthankyousomuchforyourtimeandespeciallyfortheworkyou'redoingforourchildrenandforthenextgenerationsbecausethisistrulyastounding.It'sreallyamazing.AndI'msoappreciativeofeverythingyou'vedone.

Opher:Thankyou,Katie,somuch.Youknow,it'salifemission.Wehavetodoit.And,youknow,inouroffice,weneverusedthewordshould.Wedon'tsayweshouldchangeeducation,wechange.SoIthinkinourcase,ifweallwilltaketheresponsibilitiesinthosefieldsasparents,asteachers,evenaskidsand17yearsoldkids,youknow,Ithinkwe'regoingtohaveamuchbetterworldandveryfast.

Katie:Iagree.Andthat'swhyIwassoexcitedtohaveyouonandIthinkthat'saperfectplacetoend.Butdefinitelyforyoulistening,Ihighlyencourageyoutocheckitout.Amazingandafunbondingexperiencewithyourkidsthathasrippleeffectsfortheirwholelife.Sothankyousomuchforbeinghere.ThankstoallofyouforlisteningandIhopethatyou'lljoinmeagainonthenextepisodeof"TheWellnessMama"podcast.

Ifyou'reenjoyingtheseinterviews,wouldyoupleasetaketwominutestoleavearatingorreviewoniTunesforme?Doingthishelpsmorepeopletofindthepodcast,whichmeansevenmoremomsandfamiliescouldbenefitfromtheinformation.Ireallyappreciateyourtime,andthanksasalwaysforlistening.


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episode 264: creating exceptional children & polymaths using … · 2019-06-06 · their...

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