Too many of us get the message that “learning” is a kind of necessary torture—something imposed on us at first by parents and teachers, then internalized until we finish college, graduate, or professional school. Diploma in hand, we enter the real world, which is about doing, not learning. This perspective is not only patently false, it’s also dangerous to our well-being.Humans are learning creatures. Making new discoveries and acquiring new capacities stimulates brain development and, quite simply, makes us happy. We learn through physical action (motor learning) and reflection upon the people, places, and objects we encounter. So taking on new challenges, travelling, and remaining socially active keeps us mentally healthy and growing. Physical exercise plays an important role, too, stimulating bone growth and the release of a hormone that’s essential to memory storage.Forms of LearningImplicit learning is the learning of complex information without conscious participation. It...