A Simple Way to Learn Complex Skills
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 มิ.ย. 2024
- Sometimes we have to learn very complex skills that can't be broken apart into more basic skills. What do we do then?
0:00 An intro to the experiment
0:21 Skills with many interdependent parts
1:00 The study that explored learning complex skills
2:33 The results
3:48 Try it out
If you want to be the first to know about the courses I'm releasing, sign up here: forms.gle/px7ZmXkvJW26uFWp8
Sign up to my email newsletter, Avoiding Folly, here: www.benjaminkeep.com/
*There was a wrinkle to this study that I didn't mention, which is that groups 2, 3, and 4 all had a different kind of display on the game for the first six sessions, which gave them slightly different information than the standard game. The idea was to support learner's focus on part of the game, but it also meant that there's more than one difference between the control and the other groups. The enhanced display could explain some of the difference between the control group and the other groups, but doesn't explain the differences between groups 2 and 3 and group 4. And the variable-priority approach (what I call rotating focus) that the study helped establish is well-supported by other studies as well - see the meta-analysis in the reference section for more support.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Starcraft clip from LowkoTV: • StarCraft 2: AMAZING G...
Space Fortress mobile game footage from: play.google.com/store/apps/de...
Space Fortress DOS game footage from: classicreload.com/space-fortr...
You can play an updated version of the original Space Fortress game at www.brainturk.com/space-fortress
REFERENCES
This video is based on the paper below. I replicated their figure 2 starting at around 2:40. Gopher, D., Weil, M., & Siegel, D. (1989). Practice under changing priorities: An approach to the training of complex skills. Acta Psychologica, 71(1-3), 147-177. doi.org/10.1016/0001-6918(89)...
Here is a meta-analysis illustrating the efficacy of what I call "rotating focus" but what is called "variable-priority" training in the literature. Wickens, C. D., Hutchins, S., Carolan, T., & Cumming, J. (2013). Effectiveness of Part-Task Training and Increasing-Difficulty Training Strategies: A Meta-Analysis Approach. Human Factors, 55(2), 461-470. doi.org/10.1177/0018720812451994
And if you search more articles from Daniel Gopher, you will see other works on the same theme. Like this one: Brickner, M., & Gopher, D. (1981). Improving Time-Sharing Performance by Enhancing Voluntary Control on Processing Resources. TECHNION-ISRAEL INST OF TECH HAIFA CENTER OF HUMAN ENGINEERING AND INDUSTRIAL SAFETY RESEARCH. apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA118...
![[TH] 2024 PMSL SEA GF D3 | Summer | มาร่วมเป็นพยาน กับวินาทีแชมป์!](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/JCYvEsFlwx8/mqdefault.jpg)
![ทททททททท #27 [หลุยส์ เค โตมายังไง ณ สระบุรี]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CaKoYw_Xmtg/mqdefault.jpg)
Cuts to the chase, no annoying intro, no weird picture of the content creator wearing a weird facial expression, no overly enthusiastic style of delivery trying to get you to feel excited and amped up but only serve to exhaust you, simple presentation that works, no annoying music. Seriously, so many have become slaves to the algorithm trends. This is a breath of fresh air.
Yeah, and he's HOT, too!
Agree 💖💖
@@NewLife2028 why?? why??
Well, you will not be able to reach a wider audience without that. Nevertheless, I would assume it would be nice to have an audience that is inherently curious about learning, rather than someone who just wants some short tips and tricks because they have to cram for an exam.
This is such a simple and almost obvious method. I am surprised everyone goes through high school and sometimes colleges and universities without even being exposed to content like this. You are a life saver for anyone who enjoys learning!
This is called fundamentals, any course on anything starts with that, and yes the reason “people aren’t told this” is because it is literally obvious. Anyone who is trying to learn or teach anything knows that, what are the basics or fundamentals for the skills, focus on that and everything else will become easier.
@@romulobr no it's not obvious at all, especially not middle school, high school.
I don't know, maybe it should be. That's how every curriculum is designed, you start with the fundamentals otherwise it becomes impossible to learn. That's why we have to do so many math exercises since the beginning of our learning journey, if you don't focus on those and stick with them, you just can't learn anything more advanced, ever. That applies for every skill, you can't write proper sentences if you didn't focus on grammar basics, and so on and so on. @@CapeSkill
@@romulobr seems like you are an expert on learning and have some tacit knowledge on the subject, but for some of us such information is not so obvious so when someone points it out to us like Benjamin does it really helps
The key thing in the study was they were telling the groups what were the most impactful parts of the game up front, instead of the control who had to figure out themselves over time. This is why coaching is so good to learn skills - being told what's important to focus on is key.
I wonder if this same approach could be replicated in learning new skills where it's unknown what are the important factors.
Interesting thought!
If there’s a task where the important factors are unknown, then I don’t think it can be replicated.
Knowing what’s the most important to focus on (normally fundamentals) is crucial
This is a great point. I think for the most part, even new areas can be decoded with some thought and some outreach to others in the same domain. Once key areas have been decoded, the insight from above could probably be applied to great results.
I believe it will become obvious after time examining whatever skill we want to learn and ask “What is critically important to do what I want? How can I do this skill badly, but still do it?” It’s possible to figure out anything over time by going back and ask yourself “Okay, I’m not good enough, what am I most bad at and what can I do to improve myself?” It’s always better to find good mentors, coaches or classes in learning skills, but not always possible.
@@raybod1775 Yeah, reflection. That’s why serious gamers do vod reviews, like the rewatch their own games with a more critical eye, instead of just playing endlessly.
Key takeaways for video:
Complex Skills Require Attention to Interdependent Parts:
- Some skills, like brewing tea, can be broken down into discrete steps.
- However, many skills, such as playing Starcraft, involve interdependent parts that can't be practiced separately.
Changing What You Pay Attention to Matters:
- The video highlights a study involving the video game Space Fortress to illustrate this point.
- Learners were divided into four groups, each focusing on different aspects of the game.
Attention Creates Building Blocks:
- The study revealed that those who focused on one aspect of the game initially performed better.
- Paying attention to one aspect helps the brain create meaningful building blocks for the skill.
Sequential Attention Yields Better Learning:
- The recommended method is to pay attention to one aspect of the skill for a period, then switch to another aspect, and repeat.
- This sequential approach is more effective than trying to pay equal attention to everything at once.
Continued Learning Gains:
- The group that sequentially paid attention to two aspects continued to outperform the others even after switching to normal gameplay.
Generalization to Other Contexts:
- The finding has been replicated in various other contexts, suggesting its broad applicability.
Benefits of Focused Attention:
- Focusing on one aspect at a time allows learners to build the necessary pieces and integrate them effectively over time.
This makes sense for most physical sports: you need to use you whole body and pay attention to a million different things, but by focusing on a single small aspect each session, you can improve steadily, even if you are still terrible in most aspects.
It also works for non-physical activities.
Editing, for example is a complex task where any edit affects everything else, but if you want to teach someone to edit you have to focus them on one component until they grasp it.
Because Everywhere, All at Once is too much.
Basic Steps:
Focus on Specific Aspects: When learning complex skills, break them down into specific aspects that can be practiced individually.
Sequential Attention: Instead of trying to master everything at once, focus on one aspect at a time and practice it thoroughly.
Switch Attention: After dedicating time to one aspect, switch your focus to another. Continue this process, alternating between different aspects.
Integration: After practicing each aspect individually, return to the original aspect and integrate all the learned components.
Key Points:
Complex Skills: Some skills can be broken down into discrete steps for practice, while others involve interdependent parts that can't be practiced separately.
Attention Matters: Changing what you focus on is a powerful way to learn complex skills effectively. It's crucial to pay attention to the right aspects at the right time.
Creating Building Blocks: Focusing on one aspect helps the brain create meaningful building blocks for more complex skills.
Sequential Attention Yields Better Learning: Alternating attention between different aspects of a skill over time is more effective than trying to focus on everything at once.
Continued Learning Gains: Even after switching to normal practice, the group that sequentially paid attention to two aspects continued to outperform others.
Generalization to Other Contexts: This approach has been replicated in various contexts, indicating its broad applicability.
Focused Attention: Focusing on specific aspects allows learners to build the necessary pieces and integrate them effectively over time.
Overall, the key takeaway is that by dividing complex skills into manageable components and systematically focusing on each aspect, you can improve your learning and performance in a more efficient and effective way.
If you wrote a book on learning i would buy it. Keep making these videos.Thank you!
Thanks for the kind words! I do have some book ideas, but am trying to grow my online presence first, which makes it easier to pitch book proposals. : )
@@benjaminkeep im curious, is your PhD free to view online?
searchworks.stanford.edu/view/12663695. It's on learning problem solving in a complex scientific domain. Doesn't make for great reading. 😅
@@benjaminkeep Sadly your following in this excellent channel is far more modest than it deserves. I don't know how the TH-cam algo prioritises content, but quality doesn't seem to be much of a factor. It's depressing how many of the popular channels on learning how to learn give some pretty iffy advice. Endless content on flashcards, for example, which are a woeful approach to learning any complex topic...
I’d buy it too
This works for language too. Nearly all learning software doesn't work because it wants to reward you with forming sentences right away. But if you were to just hard memorize nouns for a month, and then hard memorize verbs for a month, you are going to be understanding enough in the sentences you hear to start noticing grammar patterns on your own. Add a little book learning to aid and it isn't too bad.
Have you ever tried the etymology of every noun or verb?
@@HOWARD963_ I'm not saying to memorize every noun or verb. I'm saying that memorizing single words is a very easy task. And after two months of drilling them you will understand enough that the rest of learning a language will come pretty easily. You will be guarenteed to recognize something from nearly every sentence you hear. Some people study a language for a year and still fail.
I agree with you. I am not trying to actively learn Japanese because I am not yet paying close attention to it, but by constantly watching anime, the most common terms, expressions, or greetings gets drilled to your brain you'll start to recognize patterns or can somewhat understand what a character or an actual person is saying. Of course it's not 100% precise nor accurate but that's because as I've said, I am not yet deep diving into it. So hypothetically, if I do, with this method, I might learn to speak reasonably well in a year.
It's incredible how this apply for every subject, I use to play chess online just for fun without seen any improvement for years, then i started paying attention to not go into suspicious forcing tactics, then paying attention to play standard moves until the opponent make some weak move and profit, then to play the most confortable moves for me when i'm winning and not necessary the absolute best, and i started getting a little bit better.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:00 ☕ Some skills, like brewing tea, can be broken down into discrete steps for practice, while others, like playing Starcraft, involve multiple interdependent parts.
00:52 🎮 For complex skills, changing what you focus on can be a powerful way to learn, as demonstrated by a study on the video game "Space Fortress."
01:18 📋 Researchers divided learners into groups and gave them different focal instructions for practice sessions, emphasizing different parts of the game.
02:15 👀 Groups given specific aspects to pay attention to during practice scored higher than the control group which didn't have any particular focus.
03:14 🧠 This method, focusing on specific aspects, helps our brain create building blocks for more complex skills.
03:39 🔄 For mastering interdependent skills, one can focus on different aspects sequentially and then revisit them, leading to enhanced learning.
04:08 🔍 Directing attention to certain aspects rather than juggling everything at once can lead to greater learning gains.
AI
divide and..
@@AEGIS-RED-MEGA-VIEWS multiply?
ok do his work for him. the real lesson is how to pay attention to this video! Zzzzzzz bring a pillow cuz it is napping time.
bro it's 4 minutes video
you need to have a hardcore ADHD to need timestamps here better contribute on 2h videos of Huberman podcast 😂
I really like this idea. I think you've touched on this in another video, but one thing to be wary of is to not get too bogged down at the mechanistic level. The Perception and Action podcast discussed an interesting study that wanted to determine whether you should start with a very easy task and gradually make it more difficult, or start with a very difficult task and gradually make it easier. I think they were learning to throw darts or something. It turned out that the first method was much better, where subjects stood very close to the target so that the shot would succeed like 90% of the time, then increase the distance as long as accuracy didn't start to drop too far.
Their theory was that starting with a really difficult task caused people to spend a lot of their time hypothesising about what was going wrong, which hampered or prevented implicit learning processes. In the scenario starting with unmissable shots, they didn't bother consciously reasoning so much and implicit learning was able to take place unhindered.
I suspect this is one reason why children learn complex skills depending heavily on procedural and motor memory -- like music or languages -- more easily than adults. Of course they have an advantage in having much better access to neuroplasticity (even if they don't care about the topic), but they're also more likely to just enjoy _doing_ the skill and paying curious but relaxed attention to the output, rather than focusing so much on internal mechanistic factors. I remember as an adult trying to improve at snooker, constantly asking "is my elbow sticking out too much? Am I twisting my wrist during the shot? Is my leg in the wrong place or not bent enough, or too much? Stance too wide?". Of course, another benefit kids get is that they tend to play around with the parameters more, automatically allowing them to explore more of the action space, where adults tend to want to rigorously perform "correctly".
Thanks for the thoughtful comment!
Some of what you talk about here is also related to internal vs external focus. Generally speaking, with motor skills, external focus results in more efficient learning.
nice and insightful comment, would you mind sharing the link to the exact perception and action podcast you cited? I also listen to it as well. Have a great day!
@@sohgesu813 hi, the episode I was thinking of is 410 - Combined Effects of Variability and Errors in Practice Design. Specifically the discussion of "errorless vs errorful practice" about 5:40 into the recording.
@@batlinthanks for mentioning that podcast! Looks very informative!!
I’ve watched kids learn skating and ice hockey, and they do so much faster than adults. One key reason is less fear, with less risk. If a child falls while skating, they feel much less pain. This is because they are smaller and lighter. Similarly a beetle can fall several feet, and walk off as if nothing had happened. However beetles don’t skate well. With language kids don’t worry about mistakes, whereas adults are self conscious, and will usually be corrected by native speakers.
I love how you mentioned starcraft at the beginning because I remember learning this exact concept from jakatak, who is a starcraft content creator that emphasizes exactly this. Break up a task into simpler bits, practice those, then put them all together.
Jakatak is off making an RTS now. How time flies.
Did you look into proffesional starcraft training forums? 😄The literally have separate training maps and mods to train separately the resources, building, expansions, scouting etc, and then they have training resources that start combining these things.
That's my spot as well
When you combine you will have to pay attention to all aspects at the same time ?
@@rashedulkabir6227 Yeah, but contrary to this video the skills can actually be taken apart and trained separately. And for professional players it's a must. And you only move to combining them once you get really good at each of them separately.
divide and conquer u say?
I don't know how many of us remember how we learned to use pc or phone, but we didn't went "oh, let's go learn use this device", but we rather just went exploring, doing meaningless things. That's a great way to learn and master things. By just exploring without expecting anything in return (or not much). Good vid
Thanks, Benji, this is a really excellent conclusion and study! I will put it into practice, I promise!!.
Excellent! This is EXACTLY the sort of content on learning science I was looking for! Super subscribed!
Makes so much sense. Thank you, Benjamin.
Interesting video, and short and sweet. Thanks!
very interesting suggestion. Thanks for sharing.
this is really cool. and i really like the fact that you can apply this method to basically everything: football skills, guitar playing, videogames, studying, social skills, etc., etc. thank you for the short and concise video
This is just like iterative systems development methodologies. Build a little bit of each part of a system in sequence connecting each part together, then go back through another iteration to build on and/or revise the parts you initially worked on. Repeat this process until the complete system has been developed, test it and once tests are successful and confirmation is received, implement it.
Really wicked stuff! -- You're helping me connect my learning material with both my learning method and my background knowledge!
This is a valuable piece of advice. Will definitely be using it !
great short video. will try it for sure
That was excellent. Genuinely insightful and practical. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I’ve learned this most recently in my playing basketball and also playing overwatch. I started focusing on certain aspects of my game and I saw huge improvements
love how short this video is. Not a lot of time was spent on the build up, message was actually something novel for me, and the message was simple. loved it.
Such a meaningful content! I hope you will continue doing it and people will soon realise how cool this channel is!
very insightful.Thanks
Simple yet powerful! Good illustration.
Fantastic Dr.Keep. Many thanks for sharing the concepts.👏👏👏👏
You give the best advice ever. No other channel is as scientific and as detailed as yours is! Thank you for all your efforts
Rarely do I see videos with so much value delivered in a comprehensive manner within such a short video
How interesting! Loved it!
Thank you so much for explaining this concept. I am currently learning new things which seem complex , but I was intuitively following this approach without realising there is a study done to back it up. It reinforced I'm on the right path. Thank u!!
thanks for the tips.
I have learnt a similar technique in 'Learn to learn' from coursera. It works wonderful. In just 3 months I was able to learn boxing, drumming, complex coding, and pass german language. The idea is to use active and passive learning technique. Apparently your brain by default does the passive learning. All you gotta do is switch between each skills after a session(active) and let the brain learn the pattern over the skills you are trying to master(passive). Correct me if I'm wrong, I am always willing to learn.
This is such a helpful video and was just what I was looking for - Its simple, to the point, uncluttered, research-backed and so applicable. Like another subscriber has commented - you’re a gift to all those who want to better their learning skills. Thank you for the work you do
Just found this channel and I really like the content so far.
Science based, easy to follow and understand with useful advice.
Far too many people with youtube channels try to put up too much of a show and exaggerate how good their content is with titles as "Boost you skill level 10000%", "You life will never be the same after listening to this" and so on.
Exactly!
Interesting, thank you!
useful advice, so important , thank you
Makes sense. Thanks.
Been learning leatherworking, this is a good method for improving my skills. Thank you.
this has been goto journey since last 2 years. it's much much beneficial. i quit as soon as i loose interest sometimes for days weeks or months but i also remember to return & complete another chunk of that thing
Thanks. This is a very interesting video.
Thank you sir!
Happy to find your channel ❤❤❤❤❤
Hey man ! U just made my day .
Love u bro . Thank u a million .
It's funny, I just stumbled upon this idea myself when trying to teach myself music composition and production. Before, I was just starting with a blank page, and trying to learn all at once in every project. Recently I've been consciously breaking up the skills in each session: writing a theme, orchestrating, sound design, arrangement, mixing mastering etc. And while it still looks like I am doing the same thing, as in the game example, I have found it mentally much easier to have a clear focus on what exactly I am going to do each time I sit down to try and create music.
Great insight
This is completly useful information for learning more conciously, thanks a lot.
I actually didn't fully understand the concept of FOCUS before watching this video. Thanks a lot
very true! i run businesses, and this concept is 100% correct. even though each of the parts of running a business are interdependent, you can focus on one at a time as a manager/owner and get better at each then overall it makes the whole machine better
I used a similar trick in college, Your brain has to process information as “new” 3 times within 4 hours to log it in permanent memory, so learn something, jump to a different topic, back to the fist, then something new/different again then the first, this is why pointless random factoids can stay with you forever, it all depends on the intervals you think about them at.
Great content!
Break the complex skill into smaller skillsets. Nice, thanks!
After 20 years of engineering/mixing and building different iterations of my recording studios, I set out to build my own hardware recording system. Integrating myriad components from existing systems. I realized that this is what I was doing throughout the past 20 years, and when it came to designing my system, I had ChatGPT, and then GPT-4 to help me understand things i'd never have been able to do on my own. It was like my own personal assistant helping me execute a method of learning and system design that I knew on a deep level. What I have been able to accomplish in a year would have taken 5. It's really cool to see this video and know that there is a method I have been using my whole life. Thanks for making this.
Thanks for this😊
Interesting, thanks.
This is brilliant and useful thanks for sharing
This is something i unknowingly employed in all areas of my life. its simply understanding you can only focus on one thing at a time and yes it will mean focus on one will result in neglected areas being lackluster but over time they too can be focused upon.
Neat, thank you for sharing!
It is quite helpful, thanks
Thanks man! Will experiment on this. Might help with my review:)
Great video. I notice this with calculus, personally. I generally practice solving a multitude of problems without stressing too much about understanding. Eventually, i dive deeper into trying to understand the significance of these problems while at the same time practicing some problems make the connection.
So: 1. Doing then 2. Understanding Then 1+2
Analyze activity. Find 3-4 main pillars of said activity and call them skills. Spend 3 sessions focusing on a skill before moving to the next and repeating. Once all skills have been practiced, conduct an unfocused pass for 3 sessions to integrate.
that's what my singing teacher had me doing for years, and it works great. the voice is a complex system, involving way more parts than you can imagine, and most of these parts are interdependent and hard to isolate.
focusing on just 1 or 2 things for the next couple of sessions while the whole mechanisms works has been very helpful in overall progressing
you didnt waste your view's time by someting like an into or BS talk and went straight to the talk, RESPECT.
Astonishing content Benjamin 💯💯
Differentiation and integration. Ah, the meta-principle of our universe. This was very useful, thank you.
Excellent
If you've ever wondered how a drummer does a drum roll, or plays complex sticking across an entire drum kit, it's the same thing. They practice slowly, and analytically, focusing on one limb at a time.
Very inspiring!! Like how university curriculums and professional exams are structured
I was thinking that I'll be able to learn something new, but rather this video defines it in a more general and clear way of something that I've already been doing subconsciously for some things
Amazing video and to the point. Liked and subscribed.
I really like the video. You just gain a new subscriber because of it!
I've noticed the same thing when playing CS:GO. Those who spent thousands of hours playing match-making only/mostly were often times no match to those who were grinding particular niches of the game, such as smoke and flash lineups, counter-strafing, prefiring, remembering angles, spawn timings, movement of your own character, predicting the other enemy's next move, practicing headshot-only deathmatches, tracking heads of moving bots on certain practice maps, the list goes on.
You can much more effectively target all those necessary skills in a much shorter timespan. It was a really cool thing to witness as I grew almost exponentially while my long-term teammates were almost stagnating. One thing I was lacking at the end of it all, was nerves. Those who were playing thousands of hours match-making had a more stable stress response to certain situations than me, I could see the difference in nervousness especially in clutches (1v2, 1v1, etc.). That's something you just can't practice, but grow to with time.
Great video
Its exactly like in starcraft and chess. Most of the times they recomment you to choose and practise openings only for x amount of times. They set you for a solid base to then practise mid-game tactics, which eventually set you up for end-games.1 step at a time, repeated for thousands of times!
Really glad this video appeared on my recommended feed! And really glad that I clicked it! Hopefully this news is encouraging. Definitely you deserve many more subs as many have already said. Remember me when you blow up!
Thank you! :)
great vid, thx
It's neat to see how you describe the method I've been using for years.
This video was actually practical.. thankyou very much
U skills is really entriguing
I’m going to try this for jiu jitsu. My instructor just talked about how he became really proficient in certain positions and it was similar to what you are saying. He just tried one simple technique each roll session and over time became very good at hitting those techniques in future rolls.
Thanks Sir❤.From now onwards, I will use this info while learning new things.
Divide and conquer that's a powerful concept with tons of application on daily basis
If the game is life, this principle still applies. Those more knowledgeable or skillful about the world tend to move faster than their counterparts. The most successful people tend to read things very unrelated to their main jobs.
Brilliant video
Hi shayna did you know your awesome
interesting, feels fairly intuitive, like in learning to swim you might break it up into, kicking, arm strokes, breathing, body positioning, etc to improve
This is very helpful
bro one of the greatest youtube channels ever.
great video
thank you
I think it's largely about what is signal vs what is noise. Having important aspects pointed out to you helps you build intuition for what's important. But you could just as well sabotage learning and performance by asking people to focus on something unimportant early on, say conjugations for verbs in a language learning class for people with a vocabulary under 5000 words. The right thing at the right time is very important to outcomes, and with no guidance whatsoever you may focus on something so marginal it does not help you almost at all. To take StarCraft as example, many people focused too heavily on micro when their results would improve much faster if they knew how to grow their economy and make more stuff.
100% agreed. This comes back to the difficulty of learning on your own and the value that instructors provide.
What I present in the video is a simple, but basic approach. There are many ways of structuring "part-whole" practice in complex tasks that can be more effective, especially when designed by a teacher or coach.
This is how I learn everything. I focus on the small detail, and then expand outwards.
great video!
Most useful video on TH-cam
Interesting findings
Great video!
Interesting and great work.. 💯