Ever been driving and had the sudden awareness that you have no recollection of having driven the past several miles?
We all have. It's the commonest experience of automaticity and yet one rarely discussed; to the best of my understanding few tradesmen talk about it. I have worked along beside workmen for fifty years and never heard of it until research illuminated my own work experience of having worked away for a period of time while my awareness or consciousness was elsewhere.
Now the rub. It is fundamental to our success as human beings, since morning routines of brushing teeth and tying shoe laces would be insurmountably complex if they could not be routinized and done with relative ease. The degree of success that we commonly enjoy is illustrated by the fact that incidents of confusing toothpaste and shaving cream, putting salt in place of sugar in our morning coffee or wearing mismatched socks is rare. Yet discussing automaticity properly would take at least one book if not more on issues far from fully researched. Like dealing with a tangled rope, I will unravel the topic over time in digestible segments that the average reader can deal with, aided by illustrations like the one to follow.
If you watch an experienced person at work, the task seems deceptively easy. Drywalling for example; there is nothing to it until you try it for yourself. Your respect for the professional increases a hundred fold. There is no substitute for experience, we all agree, but how we get from beginner's luck on the golf course, for example, past long periods of frustration and bent clubs to being sufficiently competent to accept an invitation from a colleague to play a first rate course?
Leaving the clubs in the trunk of your car will allow you to avoid the frustrations of gaining proficiency at golf, but a novice or apprentice can't avoid the wrath of the journeyman he works under for costly mistakes or struggling with simple tasks that he sees other doing easily. The fact that ten thousand hours of practice are required to master (perform with ease at a high level of complexity) a wide range of skills such as playing a piano or violin or chess or becoming a journeyman plumber emphasizes the human capability aspect of automaticity.
The reader can see to momumental range of scope of covering the topic from the point of view of the master worker. Suffice for this time to have whet the reader's curiosity and end by suggesting about why automaticity is the journeyman's best friend and worst enemy. First, enjoyment of performing music well results in a "flow-like" state, and being "good at what you do" is very rewarding, with similar results when at its best. However, for that to happen, the pianist must persevere arduously to master intricate chord arrangements, and the sheet metal fabricator must be able to conceptualize, layout, fabricate and assemble duct fittings to install air conditioning systems in large building that perform. The lay person in each case can only see the results; pleasing music and the right amount of tempered air in each office area.
Thus by being able to "scaffold" on difficult but relatively less complex tasks, the expert gains the ability to tower over the average person in versatility and resourcefulness, and stay aware of broader but critical issues rather than narrow in on specific tasks. The pianist can both master and consistently replicate those difficult segments into a smooth performance and add expression, feeling, and subtle nuances that make an otherwise sterile mechanistic performance into an interpretation of what the performer believes is the composer's intention. The same neurological mechanisms are at play in refining complex skills and allow the performer confidence that the results will be pleasing.
A while ago I was quizing my doctor about this subject during a routine visit. His only comment was that he didn't mind me studying the topic as long as I didn't show up in his office needing my arm sewn back on! Some time ago I heard that the most dangerous time for an electrician is not as a novice when he is terrified of electrical shock, but between 35 and 55 years of age when he is too comfortable around live power. The worker depends on the routinized subtasks but must still remain attentive on the larger task; both for his own safety and that of others.
Much more to come on this topic. Stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment