Why nonsense is as important as learning
Traditional learning and development focuses on incorporating new knowledge and skills. But sometimes, it neglects the equally important process of letting go of old assumptions, habits, and mental models that no longer serve you. In the 2026 L&D agenda, promiscuity should have its own entry.
Now, it is not a requirement that in order to develop a new skill, you must leave an old one behind. Your mind is not a box that you can add or remove things on command. Let’s explore what L&D really doesn’t take and find out how to design learning environments that prioritize the shedding of old patterns and the emergence of new skills.
The science of science and why we need to do more of it
Although organizations are about “continuous learning” through skill acquisition and development, research shows that the biggest barrier to learning is not a lack of information but the persistence of old mental models and habits that filter or block new input. Retention of past beliefs creates cognitive interference primarily through ingrained cognitive biases (simply put, thought patterns). An example of this is confirmation bias, which makes us favor familiar frameworks even when they no longer hold true. In a professional context, this can hinder organizational change, learning adoption, and creative problem solving, which ultimately reduces successful skill building and innovation.
Now, a common misconception is that erasing means deleting memories or knowledge, like deleting a file from your computer. But cognitive science and neuroscience show that the brain doesn’t work that way. Our neural networks don’t have a “reset” or “delete” button. And sometimes, despite our best efforts, old contacts remain. So yes, you can’t intentionally delete outdated models, but you can weaken or overshadow them by cultivating stronger, new relevant paths. This is due to neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to adapt in response to experience.
So, let’s look at alternating neural connections as a process of synaptic weakening and strengthening, like pruning a plant to encourage new growth. This does not mean that those outdated mental models and frameworks are gone. They may still come under stress or familiar cues, but they will no longer have primary control over your behavior or decision-making in your L&D journey.
Organizational cultures and the uninformed in L&D
Company culture values what is valued in the work environment, and these rules determine which mental models to reinforce and which to challenge during L&D and the day-to-day. For example, an organizational culture that focuses on lives through stability and hierarchical structures and status quo may discourage overt ostracism or be interpreted as disloyalty. Conversely, corporate cultures that champion experimentation, innovation, and growth are more likely to encourage restlessness, making it feel psychologically safe rather than taboo.
For learning leaders and L&D professionals, this cultural dimension means that uprooting old ideas and practices is not just another endeavor, but one that requires consistency and effort. First, learning initiatives and passive interventions go hand-in-hand because it’s easier to create new habits than to stop old ones altogether. Your learners (and learners) also need to feel secure that their uneventful journey will not be misinterpreted or criticized. So, give them a clear explanation of why the old models no longer serve and why they are in the process of shedding them.
To summarize here, when intangibles are neglected, and existing skills or routines are deeply entrenched, they can undermine innovation and adaptation. Incorporating integration into L&D strategies can help prevent stagnation, encourage internal innovation and give your organization a competitive advantage in its market. Basically, it can help develop your people and your organization. Out with the old, in with the new, as they say.
L&D practices that support vulnerability
Promoting metamorphosis
A key step to becoming dysfunctional is cultivating metacognition, the ability to monitor, evaluate, and regulate one’s own thoughts. In the unconscious, this means developing an awareness of how we reason, why we are applying a particular mental model to others, and how much confidence we should have in that application. It also requires us to nurture our capacity when our thinking is outdated, incomplete, or overly general. In other words, engaging in metacognitive reflection can help us better detect errors, recognize when our beliefs no longer serve us, and revise them in response to new evidence. This is adaptation at its best.
Experiential learning
Experiential learning is an effective means of deconstruction, especially when it is designed to highlight the limitations of existing mental models. The goal of desensitization in L&D and beyond is to develop new neural pathways and, at the same time, to disrupt dominant neural networks associated with outdated models. Experiential learning can be effective in both. As an active, hands-on process where learners experience and reflect, it encourages critical thinking and inquiry, not ignoring prior knowledge, but updating it. Some empirical approaches to help corporate learners see how outdated models may lose explanatory power include simulation, practical experience, and hypothesis testing.
Inter-living
A well-loved approach to learning circles, interleaving can be endlessly useful in L&D. Typically, the intervention involves mixed practice between different subjects or problem types to encourage deeper and better understanding, application, and abstraction. For nonverbal purposes, you can use prompting in a fresh way by deliberately alternating old and new models in different contexts and telling learners when each applies and when the old model fails. Between introducing new models at unpredictable intervals and reintroducing legacy concepts challenges learners to override the old with the new, accelerating the elimination of obsolete habits and the development/consumption of new ones.
Cultivating cognitive flexibility
Being uninformed in L&D should ultimately help learners develop resilience and cognitive flexibility. Cultivating these traits in learners, especially the latter, should be a top priority for those in the learning trade. Cognitive flexibility, the ability to shift attention between multiple concepts and switch between task rules and behaviors, is invaluable for learners, especially when attention spans are stretched. It is with such expertise that individuals and teams will be able to quickly pivot, adopt new tools and frameworks, and make better decisions in turbulent situations.
The result
In the context of L&D, it can help us build both individual and organizational capabilities. Releasing outdated mental structures, assumptions, and past habits can clear the way for new ways of thinking and doing, and that’s what learning and growth are all about. So, how about a little decadence next year?
