Deliberate Practice and Performance: A Meta-Analysis [pdf]
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Deliberate Practice and Performance: A Meta-Analysis [pdf]
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Re: Deliberate Practice and Performance: A Meta-Analysis [pdf]
#2How can you call it deliberate practice if it doesn't yield performance improvement?
If your practice does not improve your performance, then perhaps you need to rethink how you practice.
Re: Deliberate Practice and Performance: A Meta-Analysis [pdf]
#3TL;DR (from the conclusion):
"[Ericsson's] claim that individual differences in performance are largely accounted for by individual differences in amount of deliberate practice is not supported by the available empirical evidence."
Re: Deliberate Practice and Performance: A Meta-Analysis [pdf]
#4TL;DR (from the conclusion): "[Ericsson's] claim that individual differences in performance are largely accounted for by individual differences in amount of deliberate practice is not supported by the available empirical evidence."
That's a disappointing conclusion. I think most of us would like to take credit for our success, or if we have not been so fortunate, we hold out hope that we can be successful if we really want to and work hard enough for it. We'd like to believe that we are truly the masters of our fate. The protestant work ethic tells us that our sustained effort will be rewarded. This study suggests it may be more complicated than that, and perhaps we can't take as much credit for our successes as we'd like. On the other hand, maybe we can beat ourselves up less for our failures and relax.
Re: Deliberate Practice and Performance: A Meta-Analysis [pdf]
#5TL;DR (from the conclusion): "[Ericsson's] claim that individual differences in performance are largely accounted for by individual differences in amount of deliberate practice is not supported by the available empirical evidence."
So in layman's terms it means that one can't say something like "If you spend X hours with deliberate practice you will become an expert." right?
Re: Deliberate Practice and Performance: A Meta-Analysis [pdf]
#6TL;DR (from the conclusion): "[Ericsson's] claim that individual differences in performance are largely accounted for by individual differences in amount of deliberate practice is not supported by the available empirical evidence."
So in layman's terms it means that one can't say something like "If you spend X hours with deliberate practice you will become an expert." right?
The study isn't concerned with expertise, but rather with skill or ability, which I think is an important distinction.
Re: Deliberate Practice and Performance: A Meta-Analysis [pdf]
#7TL;DR (from the conclusion): "[Ericsson's] claim that individual differences in performance are largely accounted for by individual differences in amount of deliberate practice is not supported by the available empirical evidence."
That's a disappointing conclusion. I think most of us would like to take credit for our success, or if we have not been so fortunate, we hold out hope that we can be successful if we really want to and work hard enough for it. We'd like to believe that we are truly the masters of our fate. The protestant work ethic tells us that our sustained effort will be rewarded. This study suggests it may be more complicated tha…
The paper only says the evidence available doesn't support the conclusion, i.e., we wouldn't be justified in claiming that deliberate practice is the key. This doesn't mean it's NOT the key, only that we haven't been able to measure whether it is or not so far.
The only certainty is that the evidence isn't in yet. The sociological impact of the Protestant work ethic and whether it's value is supported by evidence will have to wait. :D
Re: Deliberate Practice and Performance: A Meta-Analysis [pdf]
#8Good to know, and something I have told new comers to development/software engineering/computer science repeatedly. If you don't have the good programmer or developer gene, no amount of practice is going to make you one. If you are not great today, don't waste your time trying to practice and become one, or waste your money buying books or doing courses. The bitter truth.
Re: Deliberate Practice and Performance: A Meta-Analysis [pdf]
#9TL;DR (from the conclusion): "[Ericsson's] claim that individual differences in performance are largely accounted for by individual differences in amount of deliberate practice is not supported by the available empirical evidence."
That's a disappointing conclusion. I think most of us would like to take credit for our success, or if we have not been so fortunate, we hold out hope that we can be successful if we really want to and work hard enough for it. We'd like to believe that we are truly the masters of our fate. The protestant work ethic tells us that our sustained effort will be rewarded. This study suggests it may be more complicated tha…
> On the other hand, maybe we can beat ourselves up less for our failures and relax.
From my point of view that would be the grand prize. It also allows for cooperation (since you don't risk working hard for someone else) and compassion (because like for you, the failing of others isn't necessarily their failure).
All in all, a gentler society.
Re: Deliberate Practice and Performance: A Meta-Analysis [pdf]
#10Good to know, and something I have told new comers to development/software engineering/computer science repeatedly. If you don't have the good programmer or developer gene, no amount of practice is going to make you one. If you are not great today, don't waste your time trying to practice and become one, or waste your money buying books or doing courses. The bitter truth.
How would a newcomer know what level of inherent ability they have?
Also, while I think it's likely enough that there's a bell curve for ability -- with some outliers on the lower side who would find any improvement approaching competence very difficult, and some on the higher side for whom mastery is easy -- most people can probably get better. Why not try? Particularly if you find it engaging.
I'm never going to be a famous musical virtuoso, but I sure enjoy playing the piano and the guitar (and I do it well enough that sometimes people even enjoy listening :).