Stand out ideas are deliberate practice and autodidactism. Young gives examples of how a family trained their daughters to become chess grandmasters and he talks a bit about skill drills (break down a skill and focus on the weak point)
I also like Barbara Oakley's work with Learning How to Learn (coursera) and Mind on Numbers (book)
Great post. Memorable story that’s related to the advice. I also like that you didn’t skip over the prep. Lotta hustlers out there shooting first and aiming later. Agree on not getting too bogged down in the safety of prep. Like the idea of skipping 20/80 prep to practice and skewing more toward 10/90 or even 5/95 depending on cost and downside.
The concept and idea of the article wasn't new but the packaging was fantastic, loved it. Also, the "coined concept" of prep trap, as well as using prep and practice as an alliteration.
As Matt pointed out, the story makes it really memorable.
Looking forward to more articles on skill acquisition + "what a detailed outline looks like" which was asked about in your last article. :)
very true, and we do exactly the opposite - long degrees and courses with very little practice. Then we are surprised when we are not performing when we jump into the real thing
I think this is great advice for skills only need to be reached at a sufficient level- goal oriented and so on. For expertise that requires deliberate practice to improve, e.g. chess, violin, surgery, etc. do you have any handy tricks to distinguish prep trap from deliberate practice?
This is so true. I used to be an actuary, and we had to take a bunch of credentialing exams. Everyone I knew would spend a ton of time "reviewing the material". I told them, "No, just take practice exams and learn from your mistakes. After you do this 20 times, you'll be prepared." This worked _great_ for me, but no one ever listened.
The painful irony though is I've definitely fallen into the prep trap for other things. Thanks for the great post, Nat!
Yup this is the big learning I got from Ultralearning by Scott Young: your "prep" needs to mirror the situation you'll be using your skills.
Else we should be using chess grand masters as our war strategists.
It's also the big weakness with learning 2nd languages in school. You are learning the language with an outcome called the "exam", not interactions
I still gotta read Ultralearning, heard it recommended a few times recently!
Stand out ideas are deliberate practice and autodidactism. Young gives examples of how a family trained their daughters to become chess grandmasters and he talks a bit about skill drills (break down a skill and focus on the weak point)
I also like Barbara Oakley's work with Learning How to Learn (coursera) and Mind on Numbers (book)
Great post. Memorable story that’s related to the advice. I also like that you didn’t skip over the prep. Lotta hustlers out there shooting first and aiming later. Agree on not getting too bogged down in the safety of prep. Like the idea of skipping 20/80 prep to practice and skewing more toward 10/90 or even 5/95 depending on cost and downside.
The concept and idea of the article wasn't new but the packaging was fantastic, loved it. Also, the "coined concept" of prep trap, as well as using prep and practice as an alliteration.
As Matt pointed out, the story makes it really memorable.
Looking forward to more articles on skill acquisition + "what a detailed outline looks like" which was asked about in your last article. :)
ah yes! still on the docket
Thanks Nat - a good reminder for all those already in that trap that haven’t noticed!
Totalment vrai
very true, and we do exactly the opposite - long degrees and courses with very little practice. Then we are surprised when we are not performing when we jump into the real thing
I think this is great advice for skills only need to be reached at a sufficient level- goal oriented and so on. For expertise that requires deliberate practice to improve, e.g. chess, violin, surgery, etc. do you have any handy tricks to distinguish prep trap from deliberate practice?
This is so true. I used to be an actuary, and we had to take a bunch of credentialing exams. Everyone I knew would spend a ton of time "reviewing the material". I told them, "No, just take practice exams and learn from your mistakes. After you do this 20 times, you'll be prepared." This worked _great_ for me, but no one ever listened.
The painful irony though is I've definitely fallen into the prep trap for other things. Thanks for the great post, Nat!