[e-dt]

> People only really learn when they’re surprised. If they’re not surprised, then what you told them just fits in with what they already know. No minds were changed. No new perspective. Just more information.

To me, knowing "more information" seems to be essentially the definition of learning.

[saulpw]

Structural learning is different from factual learning. Consider "World War II started in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland" vs "Adolf Hitler rose to power with the intent of exterminating the Jewish population". Memorizing the dates and countries involved doesn't really teach you anything--it's just another war over territory. But hearing about the people and purpose might very well alter your entire view of what humanity is capable.

To a shallow extent, both are "more information", but as per the OP, "No new perspective. Just more information" implies that something beyond simple information is essential to "real" learning. If your perspective doesn't shift, what's the point?

For coders, this is like the difference between learning a new syntax vs learning a new paradigm. You can learn a dozen languages but if they're all just skins over ALGOL then you haven't learned much. But if you know C and you learn Lisp or Forth or APL, it may even change the way you write C.