To a first approximation, if you ever read a piece that argues for deliberate practice without mention of how difficult it is to actually put DP to practice in most domains, you’re probably dealing with someone who has never tried.
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Deliberate practice is a specific, technical term that refers to a particular kind of practice. It is very effective, but:
- requires a coach
- who focuses you on specific sub-skills
- with good feedback
- therefore only possible in a domain with sufficient pedagogical history
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If the domain you are in doesn’t have sufficient pedagogical development, then DP isn’t possible (at least, according to Ericsson’s definition) because it is unclear what the sub-skills are, or how best to teach them!
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So the irony is that if you want to use DP in your (under-developed) domain, you first have to learn the skill of identifying good subskills!
Unfortunately, this skill ALSO isn’t amenable to DP!
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This paradox lies at the heart of why DP is so difficult to put to practice.
That isn't to say that there aren't people who have tried, and have had some success. Max Deutsch is interesting to me because he's had some success with coming up with DP programs from scratch.
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For instance, in Peak, Ericsson says that you can't use deliberate practice to solve crossword puzzles. Deutsch took this on as a challenge and proved that you can:
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To my knowledge, Deutsch's ability to identify sub-skills and quickly iterate until he finds a workable DP approach is a tacit skill. He has never successfully explicated it. Which is why I find his write-ups so fascinating, because he describes HOW he comes up with his programs.
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That doesn't detract from my main point, though: many self-help writers say "oh, do DP!", as if it's the magic cure to all our skill acquisition problems. But it is insufficient! Talk to anyone who has ACTUALLY TRIED putting DP to use, and they will tell you how difficult it is.
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A more realistic application of DP is:
- Know that naive practice doesn't work.
- DP describes the ideal conditions for skill acquisition. It has a certain 'feel' to them, and you'll notice the researchers (and Deutsch!) can recognise the 'feel'. (cont.)
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- Internalise that 'feel' for yourself by going through many examples of DP activities. Then see if you can find similar practice activities that 'feel' the same way.
- Study experts to figure out the subskills.
- Iterate to figure out a suitable practice for each subskill.
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The reason DP is possible in certain fields but not others is because generations of teachers have gone through the exercise I articulated above ^ (plus they learnt from each other).
Congratulations — you are no longer doing DP, you are now doing pedagogical development.
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But pedagogical development makes deliberate practice possible. So you are doing a great service for the world, if you share what's worked for you!
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Two more notes, before I end:
1. Pedagogical development is HARD. There are whole fields (which Ericsson readily admits) like jazz and management and pop music, where no DP program exists, and where the best practitioners don't appear to have ever done deliberate practice.
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2. It is unclear if certain skill domains have no DP program because it is impossible to use deliberate practice for them, or whether it's because nobody has actually tried to create a systematic pedagogical approach.
This question is at the edge of what we know about practice.
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I think that makes it exciting.
For more information, read Peak by Ericsson (my summary here: commoncog.com/blog/peak-book), and then read The Cambridge Handbook for Expertise and Expert Performance.
And ignore anyone who says DP is easy, because it's not.
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