Whale Speak » learning

Doing the work first

Gavin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:31:49 +0000

Nothing more is required of the pupil, at first, than that he should conscientiously copy what the teacher shows him.

- Zen in the Art of Archery, Eugen Herrigel

It’s necessary to do the work first. And I’m beginning to think that more than that, it’s necessary to enjoy the work first. The work is the thing. The tips and the tricks, they are just dressing; they come from expertise they don’t lead to it. Even when people talk about the 10,000 hours it takes to master something, it’s as if they are saying “I just need to get these 10,000 hours out of the way and then I’ll be done”.

Kathy Sierra at Business of Software

Gavin — Wed, 12 May 2010 11:42:55 +0000

It looks like Kathy Sierra has removed herself from the web but for those of us that miss her, here is an incredibly insightful talk about making your users feel amazing. About an hour long but worth it.

The best way to learn

Gavin — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:00:10 +0000

The best way to learn is to do. When you learn from someone else, you can get a good overview, but the details are missing. Learning on the job provides a better sense of the “feel” of something. That intuitive touch that experts have.

When I first learned to cook, I measured out everything to the gram, but now I shun measurements and timing for almost everything. (I still can’t get the knack of baking.) What I’ve got now is not arrogance, but a set of internal guides or heuristics that have come into place without me really codifying them. I know how much is too much and how much is not enough.

It’s like that joke about the difference between theory and practice. In theory there’s no difference, in practice there is.

8 glasses of water and other myths

Gavin — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:00:24 +0000

Twice recently I’ve seen two high-profile blogs write about weight loss techniques which I have seen refuted by professionals. Number one: targeted weight loss, the idea that certain exercises will remove fat from only certain parts of your body, which is just false. Number two: low-carb diets, which I thought had been shown to create long term health risks.

I hate seeing the same bad ideas being brought out again and again after they have been debunked. It reminds me of crop circles, which were revealed to be hoaxes years ago and yet continue to be talked about with awe.

At times, I’m sure these things are caused by a disagreement between experts, in this case health professionals, but also they can be caused by not being rigorous enough in our research. The idea of 8 glasses of water a day is another one. I’ve heard doctors give this advice, with no idea of where it originates.

The internet makes these problems worse. A good meme travels fast irrespective of how true it is. That’s what makes Wikipedia’s [citation needed] tag so important. But this is also a matter of personal responsibility. I hear friends criticise Wikipedia almost daily as unreliable, but the facts we find there should be easy to verify. We’re putting our intellectual eggs into one basket.

There are two sides to this and one fairly easy rule of thumb to remember: if you’re repeating someone’s idea, or if you come across a new idea, ask yourself “where does this come from?” and stop taking things on face value.

Most problems are knowledge problems

Gavin — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:00:16 +0000

Starting something new can feel daunting, but most problems of learning are knowledge problems. We feel unconfident because of the unfamiliar, because of what we do not know.

If you’re worried about something you don’t know anything about, learn about it.

If you can’t learn about it, it’s probably not worth worrying about.