So my question now is: what would be "deliberate practice" in the field of computer programming?
It's an old topic, see, e.g. 'Etudes for Programmers', Charles Wetherell. Code dojos, code katas, code retreats, I suppose I should put together a list.
If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)
91–100 of 169 posts
Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)
#92Seems like a bit of a tail wagging the dog situation. How do we know the more relaxed/organized schedule leads to success, and not that success leads to a more relaxed/organized schedule? This reminds me of some other advice I remember reading: No level of hard work or organization will substitute for talent and opportunity, and nearly all success stories to the contrary are missing key facts. ie Myth: Michael Jordan…
See also: writers/musicians/artists/etc who talk about the hard work behind their success while omitting the part where their partner provided for them while they focused on that instead of working for someone else to pay the bills. They might have made it anyway, but there's a good chance all the stress and worry from providing for themselves in the modern economy would have taken all their focus and energy for star…
or the support from the state in some cases (Sweden?)
Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
> That’s a difference so subtle it’s down to chaotic systems and butterfly wings for that particular race. I don't know much about swimming but in bicycle races and skiing close results seem to be very common. Now if it really is "down to chaotic systems and butterfly wings" I wonder why we don't see much more variance amongst the winners?
Cycling is much more tactical. Trying to win by a large distance reduces your odds of winning.
That's a direct consequence of the aerodynamics of cycling. You need partners in the middle stage of a race to help overcome aerodynamic drag, only in the last stage of a race is there a pay-off for being a longer out ahead of everybody else. There is an immediate energy consumption penalty to cycling by yourself because you can't rotate the lead with someone else.
Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Myth: Bill Gates is a college drop out who found success in a technical field purely based on personal merit. Reality: Gates' private high school gave him more access to computers than Harvard, and continuing at Harvard would have been a waste of time given his level of experience in the field. In what sense is that a myth? He is a college dropout. Lots of people had access to computers at that time. True, not ever…
>Lots of people had access to computers at that time. More or less unfettered access during middle school in the late 60s?: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/24/bill-gates-got-what-he-neede... "Lots" isn't a scientific term but I still don't think it fits here. He was probably one of a few people at the time to have a few years of in-depth experience before leaving high school. I'd call it a "myth of omission". It's techn…
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Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)
#95So my question now is: what would be "deliberate practice" in the field of computer programming?
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Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Lots of people had access to computers at that time. More or less unfettered access during middle school in the late 60s?: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/24/bill-gates-got-what-he-neede... "Lots" isn't a scientific term but I still don't think it fits here. He was probably one of a few people at the time to have a few years of in-depth experience before leaving high school. I'd call it a "myth of omission". It's techn…
Certainly everyone else at his high school could have been doing what he was doing. I'm sure this wasn't the only high school like this, though the number may have been small.
I don't think people are arguing Gates didn't do anything to warrant his success, but they are saying that if he hadn't been afforded early opportunities significantly more advanced than perhaps 99% of other high schoolers in the US, or 99.999% of other high schoolers in the world (and I don't think that's an exaggeration - seriously, search for articles about how his HS computer system was networked in with U of Washington ... in the early 70s), that he wouldn't have been nearly as successful.
Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)
#97Seems like a bit of a tail wagging the dog situation. How do we know the more relaxed/organized schedule leads to success, and not that success leads to a more relaxed/organized schedule? This reminds me of some other advice I remember reading: No level of hard work or organization will substitute for talent and opportunity, and nearly all success stories to the contrary are missing key facts. ie Myth: Michael Jordan…
> The lesson is that you need to figure out what you're good at and where you have opportunity, and then work hard in those areas. Just working hard is a recipe for failure for most people.
You are right, but too often what people take from this is that the hard work doesn't matter and the people who succeed only did so because of random talent and/or opportunity. No, if you have talent and opportunity but don't work hard, you still won't succeed.
Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)
#98One possible issue with this article is that its focus is on students - their 'job' being to learn as opposed to producing or delivering something, which is the aim once their skills are learned.
Learning is often done best in small chunks e.g. when learning to rock climb it is usually best to climb no more than 6 hours a day, every other day. But when the skills are learned the climber may spend 15 hours a day, 3 days straight to climb their dream route and they may well sleep hanging from the side of their wall too.
I'd be interested to see how much time the elite players devoted to their work when on tour as professional musicians in later life.
Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)
#99So my question now is: what would be "deliberate practice" in the field of computer programming?
It's an old topic, see, e.g. 'Etudes for Programmers', Charles Wetherell. Code dojos, code katas, code retreats, I suppose I should put together a list.
But I highly doubt that the best programmers we can think of got good by doing code katas and code retreats. They seem more like things mediocre programmers do, or people only do to prepare for interviews. I could be wrong though - have any great programmers expressed their love of katas?
Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)
#100My fiancé is an elite opera singer. I’m a programmer/founder.
She has spent years and years perfecting the way she practices, sleeps a ton, and hustles hard for gigs. She’s highly systematic as to how she memorizes her music, learns how to pronounce words in different languages, practices technique.
Less successful singers in our network can’t be this efficient. They struggle at sight reading despite years of practice. They take hours to learn new music as opposed to minutes. My fiancé takes minutes to learn music and hours to perfect. They work their ass off practicing their Italian accents but are never quite perfect.
My fiancé works hard but all her work has compounded over the years because she has an incredible talent for memorization, languages, and likely perfect pitch.
I’m a good programmer, not great like John Carmack. I get stuff done but I have to work to the point of exhaustion at times. Personally I don’t think this sort of elite relaxation is available to everyone and may be just specific to musicians.