  When presented with information of any type, from music to language to
mathematics, the human mind subconsciously arranges it into a network. A
network puts pieces of information like musical notes, syllables or
mathematical concepts into context by linking them together. These networks
help our minds organize information and anticipate what is coming. Here we
present two questions about network building. 1) Can humans more easily learn
some types of networks than others? 2) Do humans find some links between ideas
more surprising than others? The answer to both questions is "Yes," and we
explain why. The findings provide much-needed insight into the ways that humans
learn about the networked world around them. Moreover, the study paves the way
for future efforts seeking to optimize how information is presented to
accelerate human learning.
