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Get Better at Anything

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4K views1 page

Get Better at Anything

Uploaded by

tshrek74
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Insights from Get Better At Anything by Scott Young

We can get better at anything if we follow a three‐part learning cycle: See it, Do it, Get Feedback. As adults, we can use the latest learning
research to enhance each step of the learning cycle so that we can quickly get better at any skill and have zero desire to quit. First...

Don't just watch –> copy exactly and extract


Become a better programmer by writing code precisely as it's written instead of just copying and
pasting it into a reference document. As you copy the code, imagine what the programmer
thought as they wrote it. Copying will help you think like a skilled practitioner, but to really
understand how skilled people think, ask them to solve a problem while thinking aloud. For
example, give an experienced programmer a challenging problem and then ask them to discuss
their process. Be like a curious toddler and ask plenty of why questions to understand critical
decisions, such as, “Why did you choose that logic function?”

Experts often skip fundamental explanations because their actions and decisions seem obvious to
them. However, when you give experts problems to solve and ask them to slow down and explain
their decisions, you can extract the vital “if‐then rules” that will allow you to perform the skill. The
faster you learn the fundamental rules of a skill, the quicker you'll be able to perform that skill well.

Don’t just do it –> build up to it


When you put your knowledge to the test, you must remain in the “difficulty sweet spot” because if you
struggle too much at first, you’ll doubt you can learn the skill, and your interest will wane (learning
psychologists call this “lowering self‐efficacy”). If you struggle too little, however, you won't trigger
your brain to form new connections that allow you to improve. One way to work within the “difficulty
sweet spot” is to start practicing a skill with completion exercises.

 If you're learning poker or chess, watch a game being played, periodically hit pause, and
guess the next move.
 If you're learning to program, have a friend or AI program remove critical pieces in a section
of code and then try to fill in those sections.

For most cognitive skills, you can create flashcards of critical concepts with keywords missing and then
test yourself at spaced intervals by reading the flashcards and filling in the blanks. For most physical
skills, you can start with a trigger movement and then try to complete the rest of the routine in different
scenarios.

Completion exercises are like scaffolds – temporary structures used to help you build your expertise. These “learning scaffolds” are great
for building self‐efficacy because they generate frequent small wins that fuel the belief that you can learn a skill. Gradually increasing the
difficulty of completion exercises is relatively straightforward – simply take more away. For example, if you deleted one critical step the
last time, delete two this time. Your completion exercises should be easy enough to get roughly four out of five completion exercises
correct.

“Nothing gives a greater boost to our confidence than seeing ourselves succeed.” – Scott Young

Don’t just get feedback on how you did, but also how you did it
As you advance in a skill, the feedback you get can be misleading.

 You can write a program that runs well with poorly written code.
 You can produce a viral video on YouTube due to algorithmic quirks rather than quality.

Relying solely on outcome feedback can mislead you into thinking your skills, such as your programming
and video production skills, are much better than they are. This can lead to enormous frustration when
your results steadily decline, and you don't know why. Therefore, you must:

Seek feedback on your process: Periodically detail your process in a learning journal (for example, how you thought through a complex
hand in poker or a position in chess). Then, post sections of your learning journal to Reddit for comments or share sections with a brain
trust of experienced people who aren't afraid to point out flaws in your approach.

Get micro feedback from large models: Utilize large computer models to get immediate feedback on every step of a skill sequence. In
chess, chess engine models tell you if you're winning or losing after every move. In poker, Game Theory Optimal (GTO) models evaluate
each decision you make by providing the highest probability decision in each situation. Big data models like these are available for most
skills today. And now, with large language models like ChatGPT, you can periodically explain your process to the AI model to get feedback
and refine your approach.

“When we’re able to learn from the example of other people, practice extensively ourselves, and get reliable
feedback, rapid progress results.” – Scott Young

www.ProductivityGame.com

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