Mind body dialectic - postscript

In a previous post - "Mind body dialectic" - I hypothesized that mental acuity and physical athleticism might not be as different as they seem. Yet "Working out" occurs at the gym, not the library. And while studying might seem like a cognitive equivalent, it is aimed at the capture of a small set of data, not the holistic healthiness and fitness which is the objective of gym antics. My fear continues to be that mental fitness is undervalued because of the way it is typically perceived. Or rather, the way it isn't perceived.

While I have yet to stumble upon another person's thoughts or research on this topic (granted, I've done no research myself, which makes this amateur philosopher hour), one can read delicate corroboration of my thesis in this passage from an article in the New York Times - "Forget What You Know About Study Habits" by Benedict Carey:

Varying the type of material studied in a single sitting — alternating, for example, among vocabulary, reading and speaking in a new language — seems to leave a deeper impression on the brain than does concentrating on just one skill at a time. Musicians have known this for years, and their practice sessions often include a mix of scales, musical pieces and rhythmic work. Many athletes, too, routinely mix their workouts with strength, speed and skill drills.

The argument is clear: musical, academic, and physical training might operate in analogous or similar ways.

This is not too surprising. "Practice makes perfect" - a well-worn common-sense aphorism -is universal in application. That is, practicing any skill or activity - banging drums, whistling, reading, language acquisition, knockin' boots - implies improvement in the execution of that skill or activity. There are textures and particularities to each activity, of course, like degree of difficulty and incline of learning curve. But there are also more consistencies, for instance, we assume all learning curves to be asymptotic to some line we could call virtuosity.

Granted, skill-specific learning is not the same as achieving a generally fine-tuned and well-exercised mental or physical health. But the point is that perhaps there is more continuity between these modes of learning and these degrees and types of health and fitness than are self-evident or routinely understood.