Quotes About Proficiency

Instead, they have to build their own portfolios, made up of capabilities and competencies—being proficient at a range of particular tasks rather than at a specific job.

Sydney: I can do a lot of things, Adrian. And—at the risk of sounding egotistical —I mean, well, I can do a lot of pretty awesome things that most people can't." Adrian: "Don't I know it. You can change a tire in ten minutes while speaking Greek." Sydney: "Five minutes.

The 3-legged stool of understanding is held up by history, languages, and mathematics. Equipped with those three you can learn anything you want to learn. But if you lack any one of them you are just another ignorant peasant with dung on your boots.

obscurity is usually the refuge of incompetence

Expertise in one field does not carry over into other fields. But experts often think so. The narrower their field of knowledge the more likely they are to think so.

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." ? Robert A. Heinlein, writing as Lazarus Long in Time Enough for Love

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, design a building, conn a ship, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve an equation, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

No higher praise can be awarded a fighter pilot than to say he is "shit hot." (The phonetic version used in polite company is "Sierra Hotel.")

He had to appreciate a creature that knew what it was doing.

skill and competence are far more important than friendly feelings.

Any physical action, properly studied and practiced, could no doubt be accomplished with a reasonable amount of skill, if not flair.

I know, baby girl, I'm that good.

I have great respect for directors who know what they're doing.

I have a lot of respect for people with a lot of talent.

If you want to learn something, read about it. If you want to understand something, write about it. If you want to master something, teach it.

AI might similarly help groom the best detectives, bankers, and soldiers in history.

As a result, humans can perform very intricate tasks with their hands. In particular, they can produce and use sophisticated tools.

I've always thought of myself as an 80 percenter. I like to throw myself passionately into a sport or activity until I reach about an 80 percent proficiency level. To go beyond that requires an obsession that doesn't appeal to me. Once I reach 80 percent level I like to go off and do something totally different; that probably explains the diversity of the Patagonia product like - and why our versatile, multifaceted clothes are the most successful.

He is a human being, Sergei Aleksandrovich, whereas you and I are just specialists.

All things have different uses. Fine horses can travel a hundred miles a day, But they cannot catch mice Like terriers or weasels: All creatures have gifts of their own. The white horned owl can catch fleas at midnight And distinguish the tip of a hair, But in bright day it stares, helpless, And cannot even see a mountain. All things have varying capacities.

out from under it. "We never do anything well 'til we cease to think about the manner of doing it." —William Hazlitt

An intellectual is a person who acquired the knowledge and knows where and how to use it.

Nothing gets easier but our abilities get better.

The most complicated skill is to be simple.