Brain Rot: How Are We Supposed to Teach??
My latest podcast is called “Relaxed Power”.
Episode 1 - Brain Rot: How Are We Supposed to Teach?? LISTEN HERE
Is brain rot real? And if it is, how is anyone supposed to teach anyone anything anymore?
That's the question kicking off the first episode of Relaxed Power — a new show about the human condition, psychology, and the things martial arts quietly teaches us about both, hosted by me, Santanu Rahman: educator, program coordinator, Kung Fu and Tai Chi teacher, musician, and (as of this episode) podcaster.
So what actually is brain rot?
Ask an AI and you'll get something like: "the mental-cultural effect of consuming excessive low-quality online content." Close, but not quite right.
Back in the Web 1.0 days, we had sites like YTMND, and we'd watch that stuff for hours. But we didn't call it brain rot. So what changed? It's not really about the quality of what we're consuming — it's the scrolling. Immediately to the next thing. And the next. And the next. Never sitting with anything long enough for it to actually land.
That habit is quietly reshaping how we pay attention: shorter attention spans, less patience for nuance, a constant low hum of needing the next stimulus. Which raises a real problem for anyone trying to teach — how do you get a lesson to land in a brain that's been trained to bounce off everything?
Two methods, two different answers
The good news: teaching is a discipline in its own right. Being good at something doesn't automatically make you good at teaching it — and there are real, tested methodologies for reaching people, brain rot or not. This episode breaks down two I use constantly.
The Progressive Part Method
Teach A. Teach B. Combine A and B. Teach C. Combine A, B, and C. Teach D. Combine it all. (Some call this chaining — I call it the pyramid method.)
Where it shines: group cohesion, higher group success rates, works well with large groups, time-efficient, very little room for distraction, and you can cover a lot of ground.
Where it struggles: learners can get too dependent on the teacher, there's less critical thinking involved, and the pacing might not fit everyone equally.
I lean on this one especially with new students — it builds a shared foundation fast.
The Gradual Release Method
More holistic: explain the whole thing (A, B, C, D together), cover common mistakes, explain it again, open it up for questions, review it once more — then let people practice on their own or in small groups while I circulate and help.
Where it shines: deeper cognitive engagement, more room to learn from actual mistakes, retention that sticks because they worked it out themselves.
Where it struggles: it's slower, covers less material per session, requires more self-direction — and there's a real risk that a mistake gets reinforced if you can't get to someone fast enough to catch it.
I tend to reach for this one with students who've been with me a while, or in one-time seminar settings where there's no follow-up session to catch mistakes later.
You don't have to pick one
Here's the thing — I use both, usually in sequence. Start with Progressive Part to build the core competencies, then shift into Gradual Release once that foundation is solid enough to hold weight.
My take, brain rot or not: anyone is capable of learning, so long as the will is there.
So what do you do when the will isn't there? That's a question for another episode.
Relaxed Power is available wherever you get your podcasts. Give the first episode a listen above, and let me know what you think.