Why don’t we learn new skills?
I’ve been reflecting on this question recently after reading a couple posts on how people learn most effectively. 1:1 tutoring seems to be orders of magnitude more effective, as does developing the physical skill of training one’s intuition.
It used to be that information was the limiting factor in mastering a skill. Even just forty years ago, if you wanted to reach world-class mastery, you had to move yourself to live near a master and apprentice with them e.g. Juilliard for music, Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, Culinary Institute of America, etc.
But now the information is freely available. For almost any skill you want to learn, there’s a Reddit forum, hundreds of YouTube videos, and thousands of how-to posts. In this world of abundance, we no longer have the excuse of “I don’t know how to do that”.
I think the real barrier is the feeling of being bad at something. It’s uncomfortable to be incompetent. We would rather say “I don’t do that” than “I’m doing that badly”. But if we embrace the failure involved in being a beginner, we can develop competence far quicker than ever before because the information is available.
More thoughts and related articles in this week’s newsletter at https://lnkd.in/gAMaXxSP