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I think as usual Cal raises important points. But this feels a bit like Malcom Gladwell's proposals were he goes out looking for data that aligns with his initi
by DoingIsLearning 7y ago
I think as usual Cal raises important points. But this feels a bit like Malcom Gladwell's proposals were he goes out looking for data that aligns with his initial conjecture.
As a man of science, I am sure Cal appreciates the weakness of a study with self reported journals, collected at a single site, in a single problem domain (Violin players).
My point is that it's ok to propose this and clarify it is your opinion or your proposed approach to work. But I often see with a lot of life/work advice, that we somehow try to prop up opinions under this "evidence-based" umbrella when we know full well that the scientific strength of this evidence does not fully support our initial claim.
- vvpan 7y agoWhen he listed Gladwell as a source it immediately changed how I perceive the article. Perhaps I would eventually have come to take it as stretching the data to make questionable conclusions but the reference accelerated it.
- dawg- 7y agoKeep in mind that this is just a blog post. I don't usually follow Cal Newport's blog but in general, academic blogs are meant to be more informal and just exploring different ideas without the rigor of a peer reviewed journal. If he put this stuff in a published book I would agree completely. Sadly it's par for the course for pop science writing.