## Notes
## Highlights
perfect pitch is not the gift, but, rather, _the ability to develop perfect pitch_ is the gift—and, as nearly as we can tell, pretty much everyone is born with that gift. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj8bs0xbwt6w2pfm20892pc1))
- đź’ mozart story - his environment cultivated it
learning now becomes a way of creating abilities rather than of bringing people to the point where they can take advantage of their innate ones. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj8bz28wpx7gykvcf2jmg2tf))
deliberate practice remains the gold standard for anyone in any field who wishes to take advantage of the gift of adaptability in order to build new skills and abilities ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj8c2r04sv4b9yj97vd0tz46))
this book’s focus will be mostly on the mental side of expert performance, although there is certainly a significant physical component to expertise in sports and other athletic endeavors ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj8c2dpemx3jwjap5cnjzb7z)) ^vxvyke
The Power of Purposeful Practice ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj8c4eg35gkv8gfq72bjf6a3))
no matter what field you study, music or sports or chess or something else, the most effective types of practice all follow the same set of general principles ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj8cesg3pyebswctve1tyejn))
Research has shown that, generally speaking, once a person reaches that level of “acceptable” performance and automaticity, the additional years of “practice” don’t lead to improvement. If anything, the doctor or the teacher or the driver who’s been at it for twenty years is likely to be a bit worse than the one who’s been doing it for only five, and the reason is that these automated abilities gradually deteriorate in the absence of deliberate efforts to improve. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj8cm9ys4mrv5w46n1mgr3a4))
Purposeful practice has well-defined, specific goals. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj8cppqjf98s184vzqcf5tkt))
Without such a goal, there was no way to judge whether the practice session had been a success. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj8cq1vzqczc3zdrwb0q4530))
Purposeful practice is all about putting a bunch of baby steps together to reach a longer-term goal. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj8cqg3826d5eh7xbze3gzxn))
Purposeful practice involves feedback. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj8csseq3jhkz7ncx6z4w7qz))
perhaps the more important feedback was something that he did himself. He paid close attention to which aspects of a string of digits caused him problems. If he’d gotten the string wrong, he usually knew exactly why and which digits he had messed up ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj8cthfccsn22n718mkn2m26))
no matter what you’re trying to do, you need feedback to identify exactly where and how you are falling short. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj8cvykczm9f0w1g3mnrqye6)) ^u9krk1
the solution is not “try harder” but rather “try differently.” It is a technique issue, in other words ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj8cz4kddgmb16ky2h8vrk78))
best way to get past any barrier is to come at it from a different direction, which is one reason it is useful to work with a teacher or coach. Someone who is already familiar with the sorts of obstacles you’re likely to encounter can suggest ways to overcome them. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj8d0actafs3e3rgv5xc0paz)) ^vhnqge
And sometimes it turns out that a barrier is more psychological than anything else. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj8d0n6xxpt2gw6ye296sv6n)) ^txmx1u
homeostasis,” which simply refers to the tendency of a system—any sort of system, but most often a living creature or some part of a living creature—to act in a way that maintains its own stability. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj9bex1jaxdp2w0emxq6s20k))
This is the general pattern for how physical activity creates changes in the body: when a body system—certain muscles, the cardiovascular system, or something else—is stressed to the point that homeostasis can no longer be maintained, the body responds with changes that are intended to reestablish homeostasis ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj9bjv6mzht0mqj4bjzyr49b)) ^zy1zdf
musical training modifies the structure and function of the brain in various ways that result in an increased capacity for playing music. In other words, the most effective forms of practice are doing more than helping you learn to play a musical instrument; they are actually increasing your _ability_ to play. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hj9bv1d9qqa3g8qppr7v6jg4)) ^iopiza
### New highlights added December 25, 2023 at 12:31 PM
Knowing what the best laparoscopic surgeons do right, and knowing the most common mistakes, it should be possible to design training exercises outside the operating room to improve surgeons’ mental representations. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjh7x70eaqahp6yb1fnrhj19)) ^4xllq9
- đź’ mental representations are procedural knowing, and this approach works because we are choosing what information and propositional knowing is relevant to this skill
The main reasons are tradition and convenience: it is much easier to present knowledge to a large group of people than it is to set up conditions under which individuals can develop skills through practice. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjh83m8h144w1gmr4rvsem7k))
- đź’ same for every other learning experience
attending lectures, minicourses, and the like offers little or no feedback and little or no chance to try something new, make mistakes, correct the mistakes, and gradually develop a new skill. It’s as if amateur tennis players tried to improve by reading articles in tennis magazines and watching the occasional YouTube video; they may believe they’re learning something, but it’s not going to help their tennis game ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjh89gz7vxddf38ptyqrxddp)) ^pfp1iw
### New highlights added December 25, 2023 at 4:31 PM
Instead of letting her mind wander, she could be focusing on her technique, trying to make each stroke as close to perfect as possible. In particular, she could be working on sharpening her mental representations of her stroke—figuring out exactly how her body feels during a “perfect” stroke. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjhpntdkafa61d9vmk0a5975)) ^t8nels
Even in those sports such as bodybuilding or long-distance running, where much of the practice consists of seemingly mindless, repetitive actions, paying attention performing those actions the right way will lead to greater improvement. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjhpph65f499qgkqfnvv5tvz)) ^s8q8s5
It is better to train at 100 percent effort for less time than at 70 percent effort for a longer period. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjhpqxsxknqk3sy95stfpqwy))
habit of finding just the right word and increased the number of words he could call up quickly from his memory. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjhpvay2s12zks4a8n4p0ym9))
- đź’ converting text to poem and vice versa
To effectively practice a skill without a teacher, it helps to keep in mind three Fs: Focus. Feedback. Fix it. Break the skill down into components that you can do repeatedly and analyze effectively, determine your weaknesses, and figure out ways to address them. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjhq2ph3c9hd9c06st6yq59d))
- đź’ iterative learning
### New highlights added December 25, 2023 at 11:19 PM
for everyone who faces a plateau: the best way to move beyond it is to challenge your brain or your body in a new way. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjjbjjjcw4y0tc0dmpkv6xr4)) ^avuurn
push yourself a little—not a lot—harder than usual. This will often help you figure out where your sticking points are. If you’re a tennis player, try playing a better opponent than you are used to; your weaknesses will probably become much more obvious. If you’re a manager, pay attention to what goes wrong when things get busy or chaotic ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjjbn9knkfsb8mh5zt61v0xr))
What mistakes are you making, and when? ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjjbpn5hee3agpz81806j6et)) ^aq9y8r
Then design a practice technique aimed at improving that particular weakness. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjjbpt882h89mgqeh8vjad3g)) ^yo9x9x
The hours they had spent studying thousands of words alone were not fun; they would have been quite happy to do something else. Instead, what distinguished the most successful spellers was their superior ability to remain committed to studying despite the boredom and the pull of other, more appealing activities. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjjbt0gx5kjcjxev2xf64516))
if anything, the available evidence indicates that willpower is a very situation-specific attribute. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjjc514eb1njpnd6n3e2ktze)) ^cvjyd9
- đź’ not a general thing
Both willpower and natural talent are traits that people assign to someone after the fact ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjjc6m453n4e5sp8apq491zv)) ^fxkr4u
- đź’ second problem of believing a general willpower exists. i think there is a baseline but it's highly malleable
it is damaging
It is much more useful, I believe, to talk about motivation. Motivation is quite different from willpower. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjjcapesmf23y9qzmwsqhj7d))
I think that anyone who hopes to improve skill in a particular area should devote an hour or more each day to practice that can be done with full concentration. Maintaining the motivation that enables such a regimen has two parts: reasons to keep going and reasons to stop. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjjccrb4fnrrwfg5d8k0fgtq)) ^jeswmr
to maintain your motivation you can either strengthen the reasons to keep going or weaken the reasons to ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjjcdkh5gqqqb9t9h2q31tx1))
the best—spent about the same amount of time each week on leisure activities, but the best students were much better at estimating how much time they spent on leisure, which indicates that they made more of an effort to plan their time. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjjcfbvf1xt88qkzex5pe1vb)) ^sbo0p5
### New highlights added December 26, 2023 at 2:14 PM
once you have practiced for a while and can see the results, the skill itself can become part of your motivation. You take pride in what you do, ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjkzckv3seaz7jvqyctk8936)) ^oebjn4
The Road to Extraordinary ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjm11qv9hcwbj6sw0q71782e))
- Tags: [[chapter]]
### New highlights added December 27, 2023 at 7:04 PM
while the adult brain may not be as adaptable in certain ways as the brain of the child or adolescent, it is still more than capable of learning and changing. And second, since the adaptability of the adult brain is different from the adaptability of the young brain, learning as an adult is likely to take place through somewhat different mechanisms. But if we adults try hard enough, our brains will find a way. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjq0hm9cnqr1e8k6yfzv35xk))
This is the fourth stage of expert performance, where some people move beyond the existing knowledge in their field and make unique creative contributions. It is the least well understood of the four stages and the most intriguing. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjq0r61fdt8jhgrra79pysbs)) ^v29s4p
develop mental representations that they could use to monitor their own performances, figure out what needs improving, and come up with ways to realize that improvement. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjq15w08ejcza0zfsn2cn0mj)) ^lte3vu
it is always a long, slow, iterative process. Sometimes these pathbreakers know what they want to do but don’t know how to do it—like a painter trying to create a particular effect in the eye of the viewer—so they explore various approaches to find one that works ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjq18178m3c57ahy4avy89xx)) ^asitlr
- đź’ creativity is frictionful and uncertain
But What About Natural Talent? ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjq1dykp10ar8wc54se52xbd))
- Tags: [[chapter]]
studies of Go masters have found that their average IQ is, if anything, below average. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjq4ypkh0s6wpra0q6mgexh1))
### New highlights added December 28, 2023 at 10:18 AM
With enough solitary practice, the mental representations become so useful and powerful in playing the game that the major thing separating two players is not their intelligence—their visuospatial abilities, or even their memory or processing speed—but rather the quality and quantity of their mental representations and how effectively they use them. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjqtgy3sfjhszgk8h4a8jxea)) ^wlnu02
- đź’ it takes effort and learning efficiency to excel
In the long run it is the ones who practice more who prevail, not the ones who had some initial advantage in intelligence or some other talent. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjqtjsr3fj52z2ethh8ks1rr)) ^z7ll9b
the body’s and the brain’s natural ability to adapt in the face of challenges outweighs any genetic differences that may, in the beginning, give some people an advantage ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjqtvrn59rfne7pfvrewy9m4)) ^m1fden
Where Do We Go from Here? ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjqv2kqm33ya21yvxpyxn8rd))
- Tags: [[chapter]]
by modifying traditional teaching approaches to reflect the insights of deliberate practice, we might dramatically improve the effectiveness of teaching in various fields. So where do we start? ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjqve6d0bw178hqcyrybtjwr))
When preparing a lesson plan, determining what a student should be able to do is far more effective than determining what that student should know. It then turns out that the knowing part comes along for the ride. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjqvvd8d4d2cwqejd2bf2bt1)) ^urfwr5
focus on understanding the necessary mental representations at each step of the way and making sure that the student has developed the appropriate representations before moving to the next step ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjqvxfbtcsrc4xz2ytpmz1eg)) ^9abtps
Wieman and his coworkers developed sets of clicker questions and learning tasks that would help them reach the learning objectives the instructors had previously identified. The clicker questions and tasks were chosen to trigger discussions that would lead the students to grapple with and apply the concepts they were learning and, ultimately, to use those concepts to answer the questions and solve the tasks. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjqw110xvjds59p0w6qjv7t3))
- đź’ objectives give direction to knowledge and give chance for practice
Once they do understand what is necessary to get there in one area, they understand, at least in principle, what it takes in other areas. That is why experts in one field can often appreciate those in other fields. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjqw7pn78j6hqae9nhp558ff)) ^khsxwx
- đź’ deep life stack craft , this is why learning to appreciate is part of the craft
humans are most human when we’re improving ourselves. We, unlike any other animal, can consciously change ourselves, to improve ourselves in ways we choose ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjqwcq3s3kxv79c3etch3nyv)) ^jg0jle