Unlocking the Brain’s Superpower: Learning Without Limits

Did you know the human brain can store 2.5 petabytes of data? That’s 2.5 million gigabytes—enough to hold 500,000 movies! For perspective, Yahoo’s computational center, which processes 24 billion events daily, is 20% smaller than the capacity of your brain.
Let that sink in.

The next time a child (or you!) struggles with learning something new, remember this: our brains are extremely powerful. It’s not the brain that’s the challenge—it’s how we engage with it.
We rely on our five senses—sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste—to learn and store information. But often, these senses can overwhelm us or filter what we’re learning through opinions, distractions, or preconceived notions.
Our left brain handles logic and problem-solving, while our right brain stores memories and fuels imagination. Both sides are essential. But to learn something new, especially when it feels hard, we need the creative, intuitive superpower of the right brain to work alongside logic. We need tools to activate both lobes of the brain.

How to Unlock the Brain’s Full Potential
Sometimes, bypassing the logical mind is the key to learning. Take the famous story of a college student who accidentally solved a math problem labeled “unsolvable.” Because he thought it was just a homework assignment, his brain didn’t block him with fear or doubt—and he cracked it. Read the full story here.

A Real-Life Example: My Math Journey with My 2nd Grader
My son loves the outdoors more than math, so mastering arithmetic became a struggle.
We started with Math games online. It was distracting.
We gave Math comic books a try. It was boring. I found an interesting article about a toymaker’s research which pointed out that boys had a preference for playing and girls for reading, so she created a brand of toys that had both.
We also did school worksheets. We had to do it — he still hates writing.

What worked? Mental math.
He enjoyed thinking through problems while moving around, playing, or even singing. It was a good start to let him experience autonomy in learning methods and experiment with what worked best for him. Sadly movement soon became a distraction, and he struggled to retain the problem or articulate his steps. Frustration turned into anxiety around math.
Instead of jumping to labels or diagnoses, I went back to what I knew—tools to rewire the brain for optimal learning:

Something clicked. He could now retain problems while he moved, solve them mentally, and also explain his reasoning. And when something seemed hard, he instinctively centered his breathing instead of having a meltdown. Math went from a source of stress to a game we could enjoy together.

Building a Love for Learning
We’ve since added a few creative practices to keep emphasising that learning is a life long journey. Doing hard things is how the brain gets stronger.

Why This Matters
Children need adults to make challenges appear fun and necessary. Schools can’t do this effectively without the support of parents at home. Children can’t do it themselves.
When kids fall in love with learning—especially something they once found hard—they become problem-solvers and innovators. They will find their own ways to make it easy. This isn’t just about math; it’s about life. With 2.5 petabytes of untapped potential, our brains are wired for greatness. If it doesn’t have a worthwhile challenge, it turns to what is easily available, video games.
The next time you or your child faces something “hard,” remember: the brain, the age, the subject isn’t the problem. The key is knowing how to unlock it.

Enjoy the fun real life comic

Dandy: What happened in school today?
Cookie: Nothing.
Dandy: Did u lock the bathrooms and crawl out?
Cookie: Yes
Dandy: Who saw you do that?
Cookie: My friend Biscuit did and complained to the teacher.
Dandy: How does Biscuit know its wrong and you don’t?
Cookie: He told me to do it!!!
Dandy: You know it’s wrong.
Cookie: My friend Cupcake did it too. My brain contols me, okay. It told me I can do it.
Dandy: You tell your brain what to do. Make it listen to you.
Cookie: But my brain contols all my nerves. They run all over my body. They don’t listen to me. Do they?
Dandy: Every cell in your body is paying attention to your emotions.
Cookie: Yeah, the brain tells it what to do, not me.

Anybody have wisdom for Cookie? How can we make Cookie believe it is responsible for it’s actions?