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Do the Real Thing

scotthyoung.com

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Re: Do the Real Thing

#71

Post by imheretolearn »

alexandercrohde wrote: post #68
imheretolearn wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I'll take it a step further and ask, do adages actually contain any signal at all? If you have a saying "try try again" and another saying "don't bust your head against a brick wall" which one wins? When? Yes, they do and there are certain factors you need to consider before saying they don't contain any signal. Some factors are: 1. What is it really trying to say? In your example, try and try again does NOT mean tr…

>> In your example, try and try again does NOT mean try and try the SAME thing again. Who says? For surfing, "If at first you don't succeed, try try again" may seem to apply. And maybe you get on the board again and nail it. Or maybe you get on the board and get a concussion. Because aphorisms are just very reductive phrases they contain almost no data. I contrast this with a sentence that has a ton of signal "The av…

> For a heuristic to be good, it needs to have a clear domain of when it applies and when it doesn't.

I see your point. I believe both of us are saying the same thing albeit using different words. In this case, the domain would be the context in which the aphorism is used, which is exactly what the 3rd point in my parent comment says. As with everything, the context is equally important. When you take anything out of context, there is a high probability that it won't hold. Simply stating an aphorism, without understanding the context is only half knowledge and not actionable which inadvertently reduces the signal.

Re: Do the Real Thing

#72

Post by mhh__ »

gridlockd wrote: post #44
hymnsfm wrote: post #35

Possibly an over-simplification. Take this example: I want to sight-sing hymns. I know a bit of music theory but it's been cobbled together over the past year in an haphazard fashion. I pick up a hymnal to sing the first hymn and immediately need to look up the key signature (I never memorized them). Then I see the hymn is 12/8 time and realize I only superficially covered rhythm and time signatures. I go on YouTube…

Have you considered that sight-singing anything is not the real thing? Singing is the real thing.

It really depends. If you want to make music you don't need to be able to sight-read, but if you want to be a functioning member of a Jazz/Events (i.e. you play what they want) band you need to be good at sight-reading.

FWIW I am useless.

Re: Do the Real Thing

#73

Post by m463 »

I'm glad there's this internet website that can make me feel like I know what the best way to do something (without the inconvenience of actually like DOING it).

(which is the problem described)

Re: Do the Real Thing

#74

Post by twicetwice »

emsal wrote: post #23

This kind of writing makes me upset. * It's really self-important. Not only is it selling you on a particular strategy for attaining success, it also tries to sell success in things like public speaking and doing architectural work as an absolutely important part of one's life, and that implicitly a person's existence is invalidated if they aren't constantly trying to achieve this kind of success. It doesn't do it ex…

I think the response to the first and third point is the same -- it's up to YOU to decide what's an important part of your life, it's up to YOU to decide what's real and fake.

Or rather, actually -- first, you decide what's an absolutely important part of your life. Then you do THAT real thing -- not any fake thing peripheral to the real thing that you decided was important.

I think that trying to draw value judgments out of the article is a serious mistake. The author is not suggesting any values. The author is trying to suggest the best way to pursue your own values. The idea is not that success in public speaking or architecture is important. The idea is that success in your own goals is important. The idea is not that time not spent toward the goals the author endorses is wasted. The idea is that time not spent on the goals that you endorse is wasted.

Re: Do the Real Thing

#76

Post by hliyan »

hymnsfm wrote: post #35

Possibly an over-simplification. Take this example: I want to sight-sing hymns. I know a bit of music theory but it's been cobbled together over the past year in an haphazard fashion. I pick up a hymnal to sing the first hymn and immediately need to look up the key signature (I never memorized them). Then I see the hymn is 12/8 time and realize I only superficially covered rhythm and time signatures. I go on YouTube…

I don't think the author is suggesting that we jump into the metaphorical deep end without taking swimming lessons first. He seems to be addressing the scenario where we use instructional videos on swimming and practicing on land as a means of avoiding getting into the water.

Re: Do the Real Thing

#77

Post by cgb223 »

zomglings wrote: post #11

Definitely agree with the article, and would like to offer a useful supplement to "doing the real thing": "watch someone very skilled do the real thing". Watching a pro can really accelerate skill acquisition because it will expose you to high quality ideas that would have been difficult to develop on your own. Want to get better at Backgammon/Chess/Go? Play a lot of games (at various time controls). Yes. But also wa…

I am someone who wants to get better / generally back into Chess

Who/what should I watch? Where can I find good videos/analysis?

Re: Do the Real Thing

#78

Post by throwawaygh »

hliyan wrote: post #76
hymnsfm wrote: post #35

Possibly an over-simplification. Take this example: I want to sight-sing hymns. I know a bit of music theory but it's been cobbled together over the past year in an haphazard fashion. I pick up a hymnal to sing the first hymn and immediately need to look up the key signature (I never memorized them). Then I see the hymn is 12/8 time and realize I only superficially covered rhythm and time signatures. I go on YouTube…

I don't think the author is suggesting that we jump into the metaphorical deep end without taking swimming lessons first. He seems to be addressing the scenario where we use instructional videos on swimming and practicing on land as a means of avoiding getting into the water.

I think the author is mostly suggesting you buy his book entitled ULTRALEARNING (all caps), and reading anything more into his content-driven marketing strategy is a waste of time.

Re: Do the Real Thing

#79

Post by hliyan »

throwawaygh wrote: post #78
hliyan wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the author is suggesting that we jump into the metaphorical deep end without taking swimming lessons first. He seems to be addressing the scenario where we use instructional videos on swimming and practicing on land as a means of avoiding getting into the water.

I think the author is mostly suggesting you buy his book entitled ULTRALEARNING (all caps), and reading anything more into his content-driven marketing strategy is a waste of time.

You have fallen victim to the Genetic fallacy

Re: Do the Real Thing

#80

Post by zomglings »

cgb223 wrote: post #77
zomglings wrote: post #11

Definitely agree with the article, and would like to offer a useful supplement to "doing the real thing": "watch someone very skilled do the real thing". Watching a pro can really accelerate skill acquisition because it will expose you to high quality ideas that would have been difficult to develop on your own. Want to get better at Backgammon/Chess/Go? Play a lot of games (at various time controls). Yes. But also wa…

I am someone who wants to get better / generally back into Chess Who/what should I watch? Where can I find good videos/analysis?

How strong are you?

The St. Louis Chess Club has a great collection of Chess lectures at various levels: https://www.youtube.com/user/STLChessClub

I also like Agadmator's YouTube channel - he analyzes famous games as well as games from current tournaments and such: https://www.youtube.com/user/AGADMATOR

I also like chesstempo for puzzles: https://chesstempo.com/

I'm not very strong, though, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

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