TLDR
“Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise” by Anders Ericsson challenges conventional wisdom about talent, skill acquisition, and what it takes to achieve true expertise. Ericsson, a psychologist and researcher in the field of expertise, highlights several experiments to back up his claims, although some of the cited studies had small sample sizes. Despite containing some contradictions, the book offers a fascinating exploration of the science of expertise and empowers readers to pursue their path to mastery. Ericsson demonstrates that deliberate practice, not innate talent, is the key to mastery.
Deliberate Practice
Deliberate practice, a term coined by Ericsson, refers to a focused and intentional approach to skill development. It involves consistently working on specific areas of weakness or challenge, rather than merely repeating tasks or engaging in casual practice. To achieve this, it is necessary to set clear goals, seek feedback, and engage in continuous self-assessment to refine techniques and mental representations. Deliberate practice is designed to push individuals beyond their comfort zones, leading to significant improvements in performance and the eventual attainment of expertise in a given domain.
Ericsson’s concept of deliberate practice challenges the popular notion of Malcolm Gladwell’s “10,000-hour rule.” Merely spending time on a task does not guarantee expertise. It is essential to identify areas of weakness and actively work to improve them. For example, London cab drivers have developed larger hippocampi than bus drivers due to the former having to pass an extremely difficult exam and navigate to any location in London without a map.
Ericsson details an experiment in which a subject named Steve was trained to recall up to 86 numbers in a row after two years of deliberate practice. This was a significant improvement over the standard wisdom at the time, which held that working memory can only store 7 pieces of information, plus or minus two. Steve’s success can be attributed to his background as a runner, which made him accustomed to self-development and more likely to persevere through plateaus. Effective mnemonics were key to Steve’s progress, allowing him to surpass the typical working memory limit of seven numbers. Joshua Foer’s book “Moonwalking with Einstein” got me interested in mnemonic techniques, and it is interesting to note that he consulted with Ericsson.
Neuroscience of practice
Both the brain and body adjust to maintain homeostasis, a tendency towards equilibrium. For example, during endurance training, your body will eventually build additional capillaries to increase blood flow. Similarly, with the brain, neurons that “fire together, wire together”. Practicing just beyond your comfort zone signals to your brain that it needs to change to maintain homeostasis. Simple repetition does not have this effect.
Interestingly, Ericsson relates an experiment that showed London cabbies who passed the test and started working were less effective at general recall than the control group. This might be because the adult brain does not experience as much neurogenesis, so the process of skill acquisition involves pruning inefficient synapses to be more efficient for certain tasks. This finding might have implications for what we choose to prioritize practicing.
Ericsson also mentions skilled “three-finger” braille readers who use each of their fingers for specific parts of the task. Brain scans showed that the parts of the brain that control these fingers become enlarged to the point where they overlap. These readers develop extreme sensitivity in their fingers but can’t tell which finger is being touched. The idea that the brain is not static, but can change and adapt with directed practice, is inspiring and motivating.
The Innate Talent Myth
Ericsson challenges the belief in innate talent by first examining the concept of “perfect pitch,” the ability to identify any note in music, which was once considered a natural gift. Ericsson cites Mozart as an example of a prodigy who possessed this ability from a young age. However, the author argues that with just a year of training a few minutes a day, almost any child can learn to develop perfect pitch, provided they begin before the age of six. Even adults are able to learn this skill, although it takes longer and more deliberate practice.
Later in the book, Ericsson debunks the notion of the savant, who may excel in a narrow field but has limited ability in other areas. He uses the example of “Donnie,” who could identify the day of the week for any date, to illustrate his point. Ericsson shows that savants often become fixated on their interests, leading to deliberate practice and mastery in a very specific domain. Outsiders only see the results of their intense focus and dedication.
Mental Representations
Ericsson’s thesis focuses on the idea that deliberate practice requires the development of efficient mental representations. This concept is similar to the idea of “mental models” popularized by Charlie Munger. Ericsson uses the example of chess players who use “chunking” to recognize patterns on the board to illustrate this idea. Through deliberate practice, masters stop seeing individual pieces and instead recognize groups of pieces forming a semantic unit.
Chess players are often portrayed in popular culture as hyper intelligent, but Ericsson mentions studies that showed that adult chess players do not have a higher IQ than average. While children with high IQs may learn the rules faster, ultimately it comes down to who practices the most. Interestingly, Ericsson notes that Go players, on average, have a lower IQ than average, despite the fact that computers have yet to beat the world’s best Go players. This was published in 2015, and since then, AlphaGo famously beat the Go world champion.
In several sports anecdotes, Ericsson shows that athletes can surpass their predecessors by adopting better practice techniques, which are essentially better mental representations. He emphasizes the importance of learning from experts and adopting their practice methods to improve more rapidly.
Contradictions
Despite its persuasive arguments, “Peak” is not without contradictions. For instance, Ericsson claims in one section that deliberate practice is not enjoyable for practitioners, while in another he says that it is. He asserts that deliberate practice can lead to virtually any accomplishment, yet also acknowledges that certain abilities can only be developed during childhood or for those with certain genetic attributes.
Ericsson notes that younger doctors are often more effective than those with 20 years of experience because their medical school knowledge is more recent. However, he also emphasizes that mere knowledge is not enough and that one needs to acquire skills through practice. While Ericsson tried to address both sides of the argument, it would have been helpful if he were more explicit about the contradictions in his thesis.
Application
To make the idea of deliberate practice more concrete, let’s use the example of practicing guitar every day. A naive way to practice would be to mindlessly play through the same songs repeatedly each day, failing at the same sections each time. This mindless repetition can leave you stagnating in a well-worn rut, making you feel like you’ve reached the peak of your abilities. I’ll admit, this is often how I practice guitar.
The deliberate practice approach, on the other hand, is to focus on the difficult portions of the songs and practice those parts intensively. Once you have mastered the songs, you move on to more challenging pieces that are just outside of your comfort zone. It helps to measure your progress and note exactly which parts are giving you issues. You can also seek out other practitioners who can provide you with better and more efficient practice techniques. Though this new approach might be less fun, it is the way to mastery (assuming that’s your goal!)
Closing
“Peak” is a captivating and insightful examination of the science of expertise. Personally, I have started exploring how I can incorporate deliberate practice into my daily habits like meditation and guitar. By uncovering the secrets of deliberate practice, Anders Ericsson has provided readers with the opportunity to pursue their own path towards mastery, regardless of their background or perceived “talent.”