I am not god’s gift to computer science (CS).  Nor am I when it comes to programming.  There.  I said it.  Why, in a public setting, would I admit my short comings?  Would it not be better to sell my strengths?  Perhaps.  But this admission takes a lot of pressure off of me.  People can no longer expect me to be perfect.  I don’t have to live up to those expectations.

You have no responsibility to live up to what other people think you ought to accomplish. I have no responsibility to be like they expect me to be. It’s their mistake, not my failing.”
― Richard P. Feynman, Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!

This admission opens me up to new possibilities: I can learn to be better.  I can improve my technical skills if I open my mind to the idea that there are always new things to learn.  Isn’t there a Zen story about tea cups?  If the cup is already full there is no more room for more tea… no more room for new skills.  No room for more knowledge or wisdom.  I may not be god’s gift to CS but my degree was the best gift I ever earned.  It was in the earning of my degrees that I learned HOW to learn.

While the degree gave me the skills to learn, I still need people to learn from.  Admitting my CS weaknesses removes the fear of appearing ignorant because I AM ignorant.  But my ignorance is only temporary.  I used to feel intimidated approaching colleagues who are smarter than me.  Now I seek them out and ask for help.  I found that most technical people love to help you when you seek their expertise.  This was not easy at first, and I had to seek some professional help.  Professional as in reading the bio of jazz legend Pat Metheny.

Pat would purposely seek out musicians that were better than himself.  “Always be the worst guy in every band you’re in”, he once said.  Something interesting happens: your skills transform and becomes more like better guys.  I don’t know how to explain it, but I noticed something similar while playing golf.  If I am in a group where my handicap is better than everyone else, I don’t learn anything new.  Sure my ego feels good if I beat everybody, but I don’t improve; and sometimes I perform worse.  But when I am in a group where I am the highest handicapper, I seem to do better.  My focus is on keeping up.  I’m not taking risky shots.  I am more aware of my current ability and I play with in that ability.  Furthermore, I can learn from others while observing their short game, their putting, or how they cope with errant shots into the hazards.

The harder you work, the luckier you get.

Gary Player

One other technique I use to improve my technical skills comes from my experience during grad school as a TA teaching math.  The more I taught algebra or calculus to students, the better I got in those subjects and I began to UNDERSTAND, profoundly understand many of the concepts that I just accepted at face value from my instructors and the text books.

To Teach is to Learn Twice.

Ancient Proverb

Often, If I want to learn new skill or sharpen a current skill, I will seek out opportunities to create a class and teach it.  I find this technique strengthens understanding.  It is one thing to learn a skill; yet another to learn how to explain it, in your own words, so another human being can understand this skill, too.

The sages may have been right in their claims that ignorance is bliss.  But learning new things, and teaching them to others is blisser*.

Related articles

• What Every Computer Scientist Should Know (erichokanson.me)
• Self-education and Deep Learning (enterpriseresilienceblog.typepad.com)

* Yeah, I know its not a word.  I am currently working to improve my grammar and vocabulary.