There's something missing from the conversation about lifelong learning. Many of us already know we'll need to absorb new knowledge and pick up new skills in order to stay competitive in the future job market. But it's still easy to forget that that will mean forgetting—or rather, unlearning—the skills, habits, and ideas that got us where we are. This is a process psychologists call "proactive interference," and while you may have no trouble forgetting where you left your house keys, unlearning old data and ways of doing things isn't quite so automatic. Here's why, and what discarding old habits really takes.
Image: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection,LC-D420-2003
