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Comment by pressentiment | Hacker News Reader

I feel the lesson here is complicated.

Yes, DP breeds expertise. But I don't think you can just decide to do DP.

An expert craftsman/woman does that craft everyday because they LIKE doing it, expertise might not even be the goal. Think of Nobel Prize winners, is the core thing that they did DP, or is it they were having enough fun (loose definition) that DP is how they wanted to spend their time.

I think the lesson for a young person is still find what you love. But with this you can say: find what you love, then sacrifice yourself to it.

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>But I don't think you can just decide to do DP.

I disagree, lots of craftsmen do deliberate practice to improve their skills, even when it's not necessarily enjoyable. Hobbyists probably don't so much, but people who do a specific craft for a living do. Granted sometimes this ends up being 2nd or 3rd level fun, where it's not fun while you're doing it but looking back gives you a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment later.

I remember taking a ceramics class in high school and they showed us a video called 'the potters way' or something similar and the trick to getting good at making simple pinch pots is to make thousands of them until you essentially have the muscle memory to do it. There are probably moments of zen while spacing out and making them, but I can guarantee that no one would find that enjoyable enough to just crank them out for hours at a time if they weren't trying to improve their skills.

I agree it's not first level fun.

And on your ceramics point. That sounds like hell to me too. But maybe that's why neither of us make pots.

I get your point, but many people find what they love and throw themselves into it without the intention or discipline to keep progressing.

Millions of amateur artists and musicians spend hours daily working on their craft without ever noticeably improving past an intermediate learner's level.

just because it doesn't guarantee expertise doesn't mean it's not still the only way there

It's not the only way

On the flip side many times people start something they don't like (being forced or doing it with a friend, etc)and grow to like/appreciate it later.

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