Tackling the Technique Trap
Entry question: How do we avoid the Technique Trap? How do we get out of the Technique Trap if we are in it?
It’s a Trap!
Accept only techniques backed by empirical evidence. Not what sounds cool. Not what sounds reasonable. Not what seems like it will definitely work. Avoid Inception of flawed techniques at all costs.
Where might we find such techniques, you ask? Welcome to the world of scientific journals. In these valuable tomes, people put various techniques to the test, noting down how much benefit they really gave. We need to give techniques credit only for the results they have got, nothing more. And yes, some of these scientists write popular books distilling the knowledge from their field. Grab hold of them.
What sort of techniques should we run away from? Most of the non-fiction around you, blog posts, videos, TED talks - unless they quote empirical studies. No Evidence, No Right to Talk. The key is to not go by your gut feeling about the value of a technique. Just Say No to Empty Techniques.
Now that you have the name of a technique (not the technique itself), go ahead and get the instructions for it. Unless you have an actionable, step-by-step procedure it’s not a technique. You’re just fooling yourself by getting excited about the name (“Scientific Method”, “Positive Psychology”).
I thought I understood the Scientific Method, for example. But when I sat down to “use it in my life somewhere” I came up blank. I didn’t know where to begin. In the textbook toy scenarios, it all looked simple. In the real world, I didn’t even know how to come up with hypotheses. There were so many possibilities: what to do? where to begin? how to discover differing predictions? There’s a lot hidden behind the simple instruction “Step one: Formulate your hypotheses”.
Instructions != Technique
This is our biggest stumbling block. We automatically think that by understanding the Instructions we have the Technique itself. But, those are just words on paper. We need to translate the instructions into actions and then build up neural circuits that will let us execute those actions.
Our thinking process is transparent to us: our brain doesn’t say “read the words -> think of actions corresponding to those words -> build up circuits for those actions”. It just says “I’ve got it”. That’s Naive Realism talking. We can go wrong anywhere along the pipeline.
We misinterpret the words, for example. In Deliberate Practice, for example, one instruction is to “Repeat the action a lot”. I thought I understood it: repeat it a lot - so, do it like 10-20 times. Cool. Got it. NO!! What the author actually meant was repeat it 1000-2000 times and some more. I was way off there.
Keep those stages separate and be wary of errors. Reading words is not the same as understanding the actions. Knowing the actions is not the same as being able to do them. Feeling that you can do some action, no matter how strongly you feel it, is not the same as being able to do it.
We fall for this trap most often when reading books or watching videos - we nod our head along with the author or speaker, and at the end we strongly feel that we have got it. It all seems clear. Beware.
Follow the Blueprint
Use the blueprint you got from the instructions to start building a technique in your head.
Make sure that your interpretation of each step is backed up by feedback (from a coach or a friend or an objective tool). Essays help, but they’re not enough. “This seems right” is not good enough. Seek out feedback like you’re possessed. Ask to be corrected at every step - while working out in the gym, or writing an essay, or making a speech. It’s not an insult, it’s information. It’s a finger in the face of Naive Realism. Love feedback. Seek it.
Your map of the technique will necessarily be sparse at this point. Fill it in by designing different scenarios, testing your technique, and then updating on the feedback from your measurement tool. Do this on as many scenarios as you can. You’re not allowed to say you’ve learnt a technique unless you’ve actually tested out every aspect of it.
Get a Measurement tool. It’s not a real technique if it doesn’t have hardcore tests. There should be a real chance of failure - by being too heavy, too slow, too forgetful, too weak, etc. We need to show ourselves exactly how much we suck. Without measurements, everything else is in vain.
With all that done, go ahead and actually apply the verified technique you now have. Use a chart or journal or any other tool to keep track of how much you’re really using the technique. Don’t let it just stand in your showcase like some trophy. Use it.
If you actually follow these steps, you will get results.
Getting out of a Trap
We stay in the Technique Trap because we aim for superiority rather than performance. We stack up potential “benefits” by just acquiring empty “techniques” and blowing up their awesomeness through Affective Death Spirals.
How do we escape these treacherous traps?
Use only empirical evidence to judge yourself.
How good is this technique? How good are you at this technique? Determined entirely by the empirical evidence.
Potential does not count. It doesn’t matter how awesome you think the technique is. If you can’t make it give you great results on a test, it is worthless. Always ask the Fundamental Meta-Question of Rationality: If your Rationality technique is so good, why haven’t you got Insane Impact yet?
Your Power Level equals what you’ve achieved so far. Keep your test scores handy and allow yourself only as much pride as the tests dictate. No unwarranted superiority allowed. Say, if you work out in the gym, judge yourself only by the size of your muscles, or your lifting strength, or your body fat level; not by the awesomeness of the exercise program you’re following. No chest-thumping about the epic techniques you “know”. You are a newbie unless you’ve got test results that say otherwise.
It’s not all bad news. The same yardstick applies to everyone else too. If they haven’t passed empirical tests, they don’t have those techniques either. You don’t need to be scared of anyone who claims to “know” certain techniques. You don’t need to be envious even if they claim to have “mastered” them.
Corollary: You’re not allowed to surrender prematurely.
Even if a domain seems completely “out of your league”, even if every single person in that field seems a 100x better than you in every single way, and you just want to crawl into a hole and never show your face again… you still have to give it a try. At least once. Preferably, several times, just to make sure. How can you know unless you get empirical evidence?
Say No to Technique Porn. Those brilliant ideas and hacks and tips and how-tos and lifestyle changes and productivity tools that you read up online - almost certainly nonsense, all of it. They just make you feel good, but add no real value to your life. They distract you from the impactful action you could really be taking. If you think this shiny new Epic Awesome technique is going to change your life forever, it’s a red flag (this happens to me every time). You’re probably swirling around in an Affective Death Spiral.
There’s Hope
Expect it to take quite a bit of practice and testing to get the results you want. If it is a worthwhile technique, it probably involves dealing with a lot of complex scenarios. Building up your neural circuits to tackle so many scenarios will take time. Don’t give up too soon.
But, there is hope.
I take it as an axiom that we’re only achieving 1% of what we could.
– Paul Graham, The Age of the Essay
We can see why. If we have been stuck in the Technique Trap so far, then our current performance doesn’t reflect the true potential of our techniques. There is probably a lot of low-hanging fruit obscured by our Naive Realism. It’s a brave new world.
We now know exactly why we’ve been performing so poorly. That’s half the battle right there.
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