As for the practice bit, again, people have this artificial division between “people who can do x” and “me.” But all it really takes to be able to do most things is to try to do it a lot, ideally in a structured sort of way.
I often don’t think in terms of intelligence or talent. Until you start getting to the limits of human performance, there are simply skills that some people have learned and that others haven’t. It’s not that I can’t draw, it’s that I haven’t learned how to draw. There also seem to be meta-skills that make a difference: for example, the skill of translating “word problems” into mathematical equations. When trying to help classmates with high school physics, this was often their stumbling block.
Well put. There’s a page in the Usual Error about this—basically, that almost every “can’t” can be expressed more precisely as “haven’t chosen to spend time learning to,” or “haven’t prioritized.” And making a point of acknowledging those explicitly to yourself is empowering. When you actively reword statements like that, you’re reminding yourself of your own agency instead of denying it.
I often don’t think in terms of intelligence or talent. Until you start getting to the limits of human performance, there are simply skills that some people have learned and that others haven’t. It’s not that I can’t draw, it’s that I haven’t learned how to draw. There also seem to be meta-skills that make a difference: for example, the skill of translating “word problems” into mathematical equations. When trying to help classmates with high school physics, this was often their stumbling block.
Well put. There’s a page in the Usual Error about this—basically, that almost every “can’t” can be expressed more precisely as “haven’t chosen to spend time learning to,” or “haven’t prioritized.” And making a point of acknowledging those explicitly to yourself is empowering. When you actively reword statements like that, you’re reminding yourself of your own agency instead of denying it.