Bicycle Model

Bicycle is a perfect example of how pure, scientific ideas can be harnessed in a very practical piece of technology. People often say that it's virtually impossible to fall off a bicycle because its spinning wheels make it behave like a gyroscope—but, unfortunately, it's not quite that simple!

Scientists have been puzzling over what makes bicycles balance since they were invented, back in the 19th century. In 2007, a group of engineers and mathematicians announced they'd finally cracked the mystery with a set of incredibly complex mathematical equations that explain how a bicycle behaves—and it turns out that gyroscopes are only part of the story.

According to these scientists, who used 25 separate "parameters" or "variables" to describe every aspect of a bicycle's motion, there's no single reason for a bicycle's balance and stability. As they say:

"A simple explanation does not seem possible because the lean and steer are coupled by a combination of several effects including gyroscopic precession, lateral ground-reaction forces at the front wheel ground contact point trailing behind the steering axis, gravity and inertial reactions from the front assembly having center-of-mass off of the steer axis, and from effects associated with the moment of inertia matrix of the front assembly"

In fact, let's ask a basic question: “What is learning?”

It is important to note that learning and behavior are linked together. Learning can change or modify our behavior, while our behaviors are often antecedents for additional learning. You cannot have one without the other. For instance, consider the steps in learning to ride a bicycle. First, we see someone riding a bicycle. Either out of curiosity, desire, or necessity, we decide to learn to ride. We push on the pedals to propel the bike forward. Balance is an important part of riding a bike. As we ride the bike, we may fall several times. We may complete one behavior, i.e. pushing down on the pedals, & with it improper balance may cause us to fall. From the consequence, we learn to lean more to the opposite side so we won't fall on the next try.

This process or trial and error continues until we get used to the feeling of balance required to stay upright. We are proud of ourselves as we speed down the street with perfect balance until we realize we don't know how to stop. After more tries and more skinned knees, we finally learn how to stop without getting injured. As seen in this example, learning & behavior precedes additional learning which in turn modifies our behaviors. Therefore these two concepts learning & behavior must co-occur for progress to take place.

"Learning how to learn is one of the most important skills in LIFE"