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>Surely there has to be some aesthetic guidance along the way? It's generally better to run the feedback through the same unconscious mental pathways you use t
by ThrustVectoring 8y ago
>Surely there has to be some aesthetic guidance along the way?
It's generally better to run the feedback through the same unconscious mental pathways you use to do the activity, rather than the verbal storytelling loop that can think thoughts like "I don't like how I did this". Use the parts of the brain that are good at painting, not the parts that are good about telling stories about your painting.
I highly recommend reading "The Inner Game of Tennis" to get a much better sense of this distinction. It's broadly applicable to all sorts of skill acquisition and improvement. The best way to learn how to do something is to quietly and non-judgmentally watch yourself doing it. Your brain is really good at figuring that all out once you've started.
- repsilat 8y agoInteresting, this idea has a well known countervailing theory -- "deliberate practice". The idea goes that practicing with the intent of (and focus on) improvement is more effective. Perhaps "quantity over quality" is better for beginners because they're learning different kinds of things, or because their judgement itself isn't great, or perhaps it's just psychologically easier and less likely to lead to burnout.
- ThrustVectoring 8y agoThe Inner Game of Tennis etc isn't mutually exclusive with "deliberate practice". You're still telling yourself what you want to do, but doing this in the language your unconscious mind understands - that is, images and felt emotions, not words.