Posts by grimalkina@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #B1S8mm7P9JXGxFT1qy by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2025-12-20T17:23:21Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
This review challenges some of our long-standing myths about high performance. They suggest: "The pattern of predictors that distinguishes among the highest levels of adult performance is different from the pattern of predictors of early performance. Higher early performance in a domain is associated with larger amounts of discipline-specific practice, smaller amounts of multidisciplinary practice, and faster early discipline-specific performance progress." https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adt7790
(DIR) Post #B1S8msNvqmJyOFFJRo by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2025-12-20T17:25:08Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
I suspect there are downsides to early hyper-specialization that may not show up in human problem-solving until later; and this is the kind of pattern that really rocks the boat on many of our assumptions about what the best predictors for sustainable high performance really are.
(DIR) Post #B1S8myUt7pRzLYXx7g by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2025-12-20T17:27:04Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
More pointedly, should we be closing the door on the possibility of peak performance by the age of 8-9 across so many domains? Probably not!
(DIR) Post #B1S8n4LtMBorVONqvw by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2025-12-20T17:30:38Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Justice for multidisciplinary practice! "By contrast, across high levels of adult performance, world-class performance in a domain is associated with smaller amounts of discipline-specific practice, larger amounts of early multidisciplinary practice, and more gradual early discipline-specific performance progress."
(DIR) Post #B1S8nAMoze80A0rgDQ by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2025-12-20T17:32:35Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Parallels to my own developer science work: - I have emphasizes that short-term payoffs can distract software teams from recognizing the long-term damage of cycles like learning debt, or engaging in contest cultures. Broadening the window of observation is crucial for seeing not just the "line go up" immediate response, but the "line crash down" that happens when your psychological environment is damaging
(DIR) Post #B1S8nGcziQd7ZuTgG0 by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2025-12-20T17:33:30Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
- human peak performance is probably a lot more diverse than we think, particularly for complex knowledge work. Generalizing from small and narrow measures mostly tested in early childhood/early learning (like cognitive tests) introduces a host of assumptions, and obscures our view of gradual, life-level learning!
(DIR) Post #B1S8nMMuN9KNNkzv16 by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2025-12-20T17:36:21Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
- aptitude is not achievement! It's important to know that we can see lower levels of achievement associated with certain strategies at a certain point in time, but those same strategies will yield HIGHER achievement over time! There are many complex effects here, like protective effects from certain strategies that only come to light under challenge, or thresholds after which the longer-term strategies pay off more. This is all part of the beautiful, incredibly complex science of achievement!
(DIR) Post #B1S8nSkWeFmhAk5rf6 by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2025-12-20T17:39:28Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
This kind of pattern also challenges long-standing myths about coder talent and what we think predicts what.Should you always prioritize demonstration of early hyper-specialization when you're hiring programmers? If we overweight that at scale (which cultural beliefs about genius and ability are good at making us do!), we may be cutting ourselves off from the multidisciplinary problem-solving that our organizations will need to face complex challenges.
(DIR) Post #B1S8nZNO0gQzj0Jz4C by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2025-12-20T17:45:44Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Another general meta thought: it's important to be careful when we look at work like this, because ultimately, peak performance is VERY hard to measure, predict, or generalize about. The populations are obviously very unique, and looking backwards can mean we pick up on selection biases. Nevertheless I really enjoy provocations that push back against some of the relationships we assume without realizing it!
(DIR) Post #B1efrgPtP87R6Ra8zA by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2025-12-26T20:49:24Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
I understand that I am perceived to have some manner of technology reach and influence based on my shitposting, for which I am grateful!But I do not understand where people think they will get yelling at me if I even just mention using something that's a tech product instead of idk, as a classic example let's say, using some open source thing I have genuinely never heard of run by 2 strangers in a basement, one of whom has a years-long history of bigotry online. I will not do it.
(DIR) Post #B1efrmHbar3TITkbtw by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2025-12-26T20:52:17Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
One time a *conference organizer* emailed me this type of guilting, moralistic thing. What kind of relationship do you think we have??
(DIR) Post #B1efrrjRKnI6CFoPTs by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2025-12-26T20:54:23Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
You are doing it right if you are among the people who send something in the tone and manner of, hey Cat! I saw this thing and thought it was neat and thought you might like it for x reasons, here is a way to understand it, and I think these are the tradeoffs but value it for y, which reminded me of your quest to learn about y......great. Grand. Lovely. Appropriate use of our relationship to have an actual conversation!
(DIR) Post #B1khussgsqq9UDSw2i by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2025-12-29T17:01:26Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
End of the year is hitting me harder than I'd like. I'm tired of no amount of production ever being enough; I'm tired of people asking me to teach and give talks for free; I'm tired of making new websites and content; I'm tired of being evaluated continually on nothing but production
(DIR) Post #B1khuyWZtyiWzNAMPQ by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2025-12-29T17:06:03Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
I'm tired of reading book chapters that literally accept "some guy said this and I thought it sounded good" as evidence while I get told that no one cares about big long research papers; I'm tired of simultaneously being told I've never proven anything enough or collected enough data
(DIR) Post #B1khv3gghom70Aw0MS by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2025-12-29T17:06:16Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
I'm tired of posing a simple question like "how have you tried to gather evidence for y" and getting a pile of yelling responses from ideologues; I'm tired of being told I wasn't warm enough on social media; I'm tired of watching tech dudes succeed after they threaten and harass other people
(DIR) Post #B1khv8NNH3ITXiw9S4 by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2025-12-29T17:16:27Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
I need to invest in creativity without production for a while; I want to get back to just doing the things that I know *I* love without this hostility in my ear all the time.
(DIR) Post #B1r4FbIOpB7gy3X9g8 by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2026-01-01T19:39:37Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
I need a deep read about how society faceplanted into as much ableism as they could justify, with individualistic brain rot narratives, IMMEDIATELY after a disabling pandemic, as a just world hypothesis piece of bullshit
(DIR) Post #B1r4Fgz7flGic0YqSu by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2026-01-01T19:40:16Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
normally I write "we" when I refer to society but honestly, not this time.
(DIR) Post #B21VPYgmgp63AupNY0 by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2026-01-06T22:59:35Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
Me @ me every SINGLE afternoon at the preprogrammed time we set the robot vacuum to run the past 3 years: the robot vacuum can't hurt you. the robot vacuum has to make that noise to run. the robot vacuum can't hurt you. the robot vacuum doesn't know you're overstimulated. the robot vacuum can't
(DIR) Post #B2Q36Plzfu5uFvLUnY by grimalkina@mastodon.social
2026-01-18T17:13:28Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
"You see, it's about making sure we restrict working in technology to the people who were born with the innate gift of CRAFT, you can't understand" - software people chirping at me while I'm trying to log into a website generated by their Craft that has two different log-in pages for separate issues