THE SEVEN PERVASIVE MYTHS “Certain myths and fairy tales help advance a culture by passing on a profound and complex wisdom to succeeding generations. Others, however, deserve to be questioned. This book is about seven pervasive myths, or mindsets, that undermine the process of learning and how we can avoid their debilitating effects in a wide variety of settings. 1. The basics must be learned so well that they become second nature. 2. Paying attention means staying focused on one thing at a time. 3. Delaying gratification is important. 4. Rote memorization is necessary in education. 5. Forgetting is a problem. 6. Intelligence is knowing ‘what’s out there.’ 7. There are right and wrong answers.”