CF Dictionary A reference for Critical Fallibilism

CF Dictionary · Practice & Mastery

Many Small Skills

CF's learning strategy: master many small sub-skills before tackling big ones. Avoids being stuck.

Many small skills is CF's learning strategy: master many small sub-skills before tackling big ones. It's an alternative to "learn the big skill, get stuck, give up".

Why small skills

  • Progress is visible. Each small skill has a clear pass/fail.
  • Less overreach.: Each skill is within current ability.
  • error-correction is fast. Errors are localised.
  • integration is easier. Combine small skills into bigger ones.

How to apply it

  1. Decompose the big skill. What are its sub-skills?
  2. Order them. Prerequisites first.
  3. Master each in turn. See deliberate-practice.
  4. Combine. Integrate the small skills into the big one.
  5. Test the combination. Does the big skill now work?

What "small" means

  • Small enough to learn in days or weeks. Not hours.
  • Small enough to test. Pass/fail is clear.
  • Small enough to integrate. Fits with other small skills.
  • Not too small. Avoid infinite decomposition.

Anti-patterns

  • Trying to learn the big skill directly. You'll get stuck.
  • Decomposing too much. Endless trivial sub-skills.
  • Skipping integration. Small skills that don't combine.
  • No feedback. Practising without knowing if it works.

Examples

  • Math. Arithmetic → algebra → calculus → analysis.
  • Writing. Sentences → paragraphs → essays → books.
  • Programming. Variables → functions → modules → applications.
  • Philosophy. Definitions → arguments → theories → systems.

"Learning Many Small Skills Instead of Getting Stuck" is a CF essay title. — criticalfallibilism.com