Gardening techniques
Learning and memory are by default automatic processes; their efficacy is proportional to the relevance that the thing to be learned has to your life (frequency, neurons firing together, synaptic pruning, interconnections, etc.). You could say that this relevance acts as filter for incoming information.
There are reasons why you might want to sneak information past this filter ("artificial learning"):
To learn abstract knowledge that is far removed from daily life (e.g. math). This is done using analogies, mnemonics, examples, anthropomorphism, etc.
To interfere with the process of "natural learning" with the goal of improving learning mechanisms, for example when learning a skill like playing the piano. This is done using deliberate practice, analysis, etc.
See these methods as gardening techniques. We either let the garden of the mind grow naturally or we sculpt it deliberately.
