Why does something suddenly ‘click’ when learning something?

Question

Why when learning how to play something, such as an instrument, does something suddenly click and you suddenly become much better at that skill?

And does this apply for learning anything? Such as programming or are some things just learnt at a constant rate by certain people.

In: 475

Answer 1

Sometimes the ‘click’ is figuring out how to relate it to something you already know, turning it from unfamiliar into something mostly familiar.

Imagine starting a new job and learning your route to work. The “click” happens very early, but it’s when you’ve done it once or twice and realize “oh, it’s like going to [other place] except I turn at [landmark]” and suddenly 75-90% of the route is no longer ‘new’.