| This is roughly the full Dreyfus model: (1) Novice... does not understand anything but basic knowledge in the abstract sense (2) Competent... knows how to apply knowledge to solve concrete problems (3) Proficient... sees how particular solutions fit into the context of different problems (i.e. what tools to use, when, and why) (4) Expert... picks the right tool for the job without having to do careful analysis... works from intuition by pattern matching against fundamental concepts combined with past experiences. (5) Master... picks the right tool for the job without even being consciously aware of the fact that they're "doing work" at all. It's important to remember that all of these levels apply within specific contexts... you can be master one thing while being a novice at many other things. But each step along the path is a gate of sorts: in that you can't really understand what it's like to be an expert in anything until you're an expert in at least one thing, and building expertise is easier when you have done it at least once. But a big problem (which we're mentally hard wired to be biased about) is evaluating our own skills, as well as the scope of experience of others. This is why someone with local expertise often thinks they can speak on topics outside of their actual expertise, and why people tend to believe them when they do. "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman is the best book I know on that topic. Totally worth reading. |