8.6 KiB
title, published, template
| title | published | template |
|---|---|---|
| Production | false | stage-play |
The Questions
I was recently asked why -- and especially for whom -- I am publishing. Why write this blog? And why put a presentation on YouTube?
Introspection
Obvious Answer
I was a little confused by these questions, because I never thought about them. I always dabbled in various technologies to publish. Publishing seems like a really simple task, but there is so, so many approaches to it. It's intriguing! This blog was deployed on various technologies before: GitHub Pages, Jekyll, Hugo, and of course the current iteration WriteFreely. I have more to try on my list: Pollen, Beautiful Racket, Publish.
And when crossing the realm into scientific publishing, it's gets even more interesting! I wrote all my papers with LaTeX, because its typesetting looks great and it deals well with bibliographies. Many people, especially in MINT, even use (La-)TeX to create their presentation slides (see: Beamer Package, Beamer Theme Gallery).
Side note: LaTeX is a typesetting system. Instead of using Word to write text, you can choose to use LaTeX. A deep discussion can be had, why you should pick one over the other. Maybe I will write about this discussion some time in the future.
Bridge
Therefore, my reason for publishing is first and foremost: the technology is interesting to me. But after thinking about the introductory questions, I had to come to the conclusion, that the fascination with technology is not my only reason -- there is a more fundamental one behind it. The reason why it feels right to publish.
And I realized my conviction, that this reason is so fundamentally important to personal growth, that literally everyone should consider adopting it. Let me convince you.
Deeper Reasons -> Getting good
I am a knowledge worker. As a project manager and consultant, it's my job to reduce complexity for others. My main tool is structured text. During my academic career, I wrote a few papers and did many presentations. And my main tool for that is also structured text. That's why it comes easy to choose a blog. I produce text (and sometimes video).
But publishing text is only one type of creation. Producing something can take on many different forms: Singing, playing an instrument, writing code, dancing, building, playing a game (and developing a strategy within that game), discussing in a group, giving a talk, ... the means of production for self-expression are seized by the individual and are virtually endless.
Most of the things listed above are recreational activities. Being good at them is not necessarily a priority. But most activities also can be done professionally. It's up to the individual to decide the category at some point in their lives. Once something becomes more than a hobby, being good at it might also become more important.
And then, you ask yourself the question: How to get good?
What does it mean to get good at something?
Deliberate Practice is an essential part of it
Let's start with an obvious fact: Getting good at something requires doing that particular something. Nobody can expect to pick up a racket and instantly be a tennis expert. Or to pick up a violin and instantly play a solo. Who doesn't know the saying: Practice makes perfect?!
This saying is rooted in good research: There is a well-known study done in the 90s done by K. Anders Ericsson et al. that highlights the importance of Deliberate Practice to acquire an expert skill. Deliberate Practice is an evidence-based method and importantly distinct from just attaining a skill indirectly because of everyday use.
There is a poem by Piet Hein that encapsulates this idea wonderfully:
The road to wisdom?
-- Well it's plain
and simple to express:
Err
and err
and err again
but less
and less
and less.
-- Piet Hein
To me, the idea of Deliberate Practice implies the willingness to actively focus, apply, and reflect.
Additionally, it requires the ability to reflect on the task and ideally being able to get and process feedback.
Git Gud
The study also indicates the amount of time required to become an expert. The authors conclude, that "the differences between expert performers and normal adults reflect a life-long period of deliberate effort to improve performance in a specific domain." p. 400
In the book Outliers (2008)Malcolm Gladwell built on this idea and popularized the hypothesis that it takes 10.000 hours to become an expert.
Making mistakes is an essential part of it
Identifying mistakes is hard, it requires other people (Feedback)
Getting good requires application
This holds true even for knowledge workers
When writing academic text, I often use Google Scholar. It's a search engine for scholarly literature as Wikipedia eloquently puts it. It was launched, when Googles motto still was:
For as long as I can remember, the quote on the Google Scholar main page read: Stand on the shoulders of giants. It is burnt into my memory. I love that quote.
It expresses a lot about academia that is dear to me. Especially the respect for the vast knowledge human civilization has collected: Interpret Giants as individual giants; then it highlights the immense contribution of some individual people. Interpret Giants as a collective; then it shows The importance of collaboration and the exchange of ideas.
This holds also true for knowledge workers. There is a lovely quote from Friedrich Schelling about applying knowledge:
Ready made knowledge can only be memorized. Knowledge is not truly our own, until we are capable of reproducing the given content in a form of our own making. Memorizing is but a negative condition. True or organic assimilation is impossible without inner transformation of what we learned.
All rules for study are summed up in this one: Learn only in order to create. Only by his divine capacity for production is man truly man. Without it no more than a tolerably well devised machine."
It also holds
Getting good at something requires dedication, commitment, discipline. It requires practice. And at some point it requires help.
Embarrassment is the cost of entry. If you aren’t willing to look like a foolish beginner, you will never become a graceful master.
Making mistakes is not a weakness. It's a requirement.
I've long held the opinion that ultimately only producing will help a person achieve excellence. Certainly, consumption plays a vital role. It can show a direction, a path. It is an initiator. But it can only bring you so far. Personal improvement, at some point, requires you to produce, to share, and to gather feedback that can be acted upon.
I realized that publishing helps my own understanding a lot. It requires processing thoughts in a relatively formal way. Creating a text, a presentation, or any other form of content fuels deeper thinking. Additionally, it allows others to follow these thoughts and reflect them critically.
To me, this whole process is encapsulated in the term production.
Talent is helpful to become good at something. But dedication is required to reach excellence.
To answer the questions: Why write this blog? And why put a presentation on YouTube?
I want to improve.
I was told my arguments were not convincing and detailled enough. So I'll try
There is a difference between consuming for production and just consuming
The subjects should receive immediate informative feedback and knowledge of results of their performance. The subjects should repeatedly perform the same or similar tasks. p. 367