Incompetency is actually a really interesting topic here. You might consider that being both highly skilled and incompetent is an unnatural state. Imagining simpler times when the world didn't change so fast and societies were less complicated, I think it was less likely for skilled people to rise to a position of incompetence. Its only …
Incompetency is actually a really interesting topic here. You might consider that being both highly skilled and incompetent is an unnatural state. Imagining simpler times when the world didn't change so fast and societies were less complicated, I think it was less likely for skilled people to rise to a position of incompetence. Its only with more complex societies and a certain level of abstraction between performance and outcomes that allows for incompetence to persist.
We should also consider that continuous learning is not cheap. It consumes resources and takes away from current productivity. Consider an athlete who is training hard to go to the next level. Over time, if they train correctly, they will get stronger and more capable. But in the mean time, their performance might suffer as their body and mind endures greater strain
I wonder about the first point -- I would wager that whenever skill exists, there are always folks trying to imitate skill, so I'm inclined to believe that this just comes inevitably with the territory (just like with Batesian mimicry) and was always around to some extent. But there's certainly something to be said about complexity preparing a ripe breeding ground for this sort of pattern though.
I really love your second point, and hadn't considered continuous learning by analogy to athletics. The metaphor really helps me verbalize the exhaustion I often feel when I am "training" (i.e. overexerting my brain). And I'm sure many of the principles of exercise are transferable here -- you need to take breaks (maybe even rest days), you should probably track some metrics, etc.
I tend to be a bit negative about this world we have built. Nuclear families, cut off from support and collective wisdom. Relentless materialism that is literally ruining the world. Maybe perpetually feeling incompetent is another challenge? I'm a big fan of continuous learning but is there also zen in just Being?
Incompetency is actually a really interesting topic here. You might consider that being both highly skilled and incompetent is an unnatural state. Imagining simpler times when the world didn't change so fast and societies were less complicated, I think it was less likely for skilled people to rise to a position of incompetence. Its only with more complex societies and a certain level of abstraction between performance and outcomes that allows for incompetence to persist.
We should also consider that continuous learning is not cheap. It consumes resources and takes away from current productivity. Consider an athlete who is training hard to go to the next level. Over time, if they train correctly, they will get stronger and more capable. But in the mean time, their performance might suffer as their body and mind endures greater strain
Excellent takes, as always, Gordon.
I wonder about the first point -- I would wager that whenever skill exists, there are always folks trying to imitate skill, so I'm inclined to believe that this just comes inevitably with the territory (just like with Batesian mimicry) and was always around to some extent. But there's certainly something to be said about complexity preparing a ripe breeding ground for this sort of pattern though.
I really love your second point, and hadn't considered continuous learning by analogy to athletics. The metaphor really helps me verbalize the exhaustion I often feel when I am "training" (i.e. overexerting my brain). And I'm sure many of the principles of exercise are transferable here -- you need to take breaks (maybe even rest days), you should probably track some metrics, etc.
I feel another post brewing.
I tend to be a bit negative about this world we have built. Nuclear families, cut off from support and collective wisdom. Relentless materialism that is literally ruining the world. Maybe perpetually feeling incompetent is another challenge? I'm a big fan of continuous learning but is there also zen in just Being?