Coding of nonsense vs the detection of patterns

Two theories are contrasted: coding information into arbitrary characters vs extracting patterns from a flux of stimulation. It is argued that coding is the process people use to memorize nonsense and, for that reason, is a poor model for the applied psychology of learning. The contrasting idea, that Ss perceive patterns and extract information. can be used to improve education by leading teachers to organize their material. It is also argued that most demonstrations of coding can be interpreted as examples of pattern perception.