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A Note on Overthinking

ToughButterCup

Entry posted by ToughButterCup

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I'm sometimes accused of overthinking stuff. And I'm a little weary of it. Here's why.

Expert status in many areas is thought to develop after about 50,000 hours of practice. And one of the common characteristics of expert status is the reduced need to think about the hard-learned craft or subject. It (irrespective of subject matter) becomes hard wired. 

Take my digger. Just bought it a few weeks ago and while using it in the first couple of hours I was like a cat on a hot tin roof. My shoulders ached, my jaw was locked, my concentration fierce.

And then I remembered my flying lessons. 'Think it, and it'll happen, lad' growled the instructor. And when the fear had dropped a bit, I allowed myself to relax and reduce the control inputs. Suddenly I wasn't dancing all over the sky like the proverbial in a pot. On the digger, I reduced the control input and slowly the swing was not so large, not so jerky. Then Ed (Construction Channel) said it would take about 4 hours to get a basic understanding. He was right.

That was a fortnight or so ago. Now, I couldn't tell you what I do to hook a self-hitch bucket, Now I get annoyed at myself for 'clangy' bucket movements.

Slowly I have stopped thinking about it. I just feel it. The next step is over-confidence (pilots call it the Death Zone -about 200 hours into their training). Now, I don't think I'm going to die while using a digger, but I'm going to be extra vigilant in a month or two.

After many hours of practice, experts (it's a well-documented phenomenon) simply don't remember that they had to learn stuff. And sometimes are just a little puzzled by someone who asks apparently naive questions. And then -with kindness and reassurance at the root of their response- reply that the questioner is over-thinking it.

No, all the questioner is doing is sharing their worry, their lack of expertise, their lack of practice. 

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Declan52

See you're coming round to not over thinking it!!! Best tip for the digger is just keep the revs at half way so if anything happens you still have a chance to rectify your mistake.

You only need 200 hrs practice to do your red digger ticket. Sort of like your driving license where you can operate the vehicle without killing anybody but are a long way from being the best driver on the road.

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Stones

'Think it and it'll happen'

 

I remember that well from my driver training, sustained rev gear changing.  All too soon, hurtling around the countryside, changing gear without using the clutch.  Easy and effortless when you have mastered it, but crunchingly horrific if you haven't!

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ToughButterCup
5 hours ago, Declan52 said:

 Best tip for the digger is just keep the revs at half way so if anything happens you still have a chance to rectify your mistake.

You only need 200 hrs practice to do your red digger ticket. 

Yes, Declan, I've got there with the half-way revs on my own. The little thing is so powerful, and if I'm really gentle I can move it a few centimeters at a time. It's the best fun I had in ages

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ToughButterCup
5 hours ago, Stones said:

I remember that well from my driver training, sustained rev gear changing.  All too soon, hurtling around the countryside, changing gear without using the clutch.  Easy and effortless when you have mastered it, but crunchingly horrific if you haven't!

My dad used to call that Synchro Smash Gears......

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