Fascinating article about the psychological concept of chunking, and how
it takes about 10 years of hard work in any area to become a master of
that area:
"Ericsson argues that what matters is not experience per se but 'effortful
study,' which entails continually tackling challenges that lie just beyond
one's competence. That is why it is possible for enthusiasts to spend tens
of thousands of hours playing chess or golf or a musical instrument
without ever advancing beyond the amateur level and why a properly trained
student can overtake them in a relatively short time."
That fits in well with my maxim of "experience alone is a poor teacher" -
that you need continual feedback and consideration, as well as always
pushing yourself further, to benefit from experience. I've seen how it's
possible to get good incredibly fast if these conditions are met. Which
gives me hope for all the abilities I haven't even started trying to
master...
I found the link on a great screenwriting blog by Alex Epstein, at
http://complicationsensue.blogspot.com/2006/08/push-envelope.html, who
adds about the process of chunking:
I think I do that, in my field. When I have a screenplay in my head, I
sort of "feel" it. I don't think in terms of beats, though beats are what
I write down. I think in terms of story structures. In other words I don't
see a beginning, a middle, and an end; I see a beginning-middle-and-end
that all go together... Comedians do the same thing. Ken Levine wrote in
one of his posts about how Jim Brooks [of the Simpsons!] would come up
with entire pages of dialog on the spot. It wasn't that he was having one
insight after another. He had ONE BIG INSIGHT that gave him the whole run
of jokes.
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