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> Their point is that you can't learn general problem solving. they're wrong. The same skills I use to track down a bug can be used to track down a parasitic

> Their point is that you can't learn general problem solving. they're wrong. The same skills I use to track down a bug can be used to track down a parasitic draw in a vehicle. If you take me, with my problem solving experience in software, and set me next to someone who is completely new to working on vehicles (IOW, we have the same experience working on vehicles), I'm going to pick it up faster and be better at it. why? because general problem solving is a skill.

Sxubas 3y ago
General problem solving is not just finding what is wrong with a machine, which is the domain you are referring to. Here are some examples where that 'algorithm' might not give you a headstart: How should I cook this meal? How should I direct this presentation to maximize the chance of them to buy the product/service ? What should I do to not starve if lost in the woods? How can I detect friendships that are not beneficial for me in the long run? How can I tell if this media content is true or false? We all have some sort of familiarity with most types of domains, so you might be inclined to think it is due to your 'problem solving' skill. However, the point of the article is that you can't transfer your skill level in one domain to another. It's easy to see as if it wasn't that way, recruiting software engineers would be trivial: apply a test for a proxy and that would be your predictor for performance. This is not the case as (afaik) not even big tech has hit the nail with their recruiting processes.
- PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
  > However, the point of the article is that you can't transfer your skill level in one domain to another. This is like the study I saw in the 90's where they concluded heterosexual couples are more likely to have children then homosexual couples. yeah, no shit. The point _I_ was referring to is the idea that general problem solving isn't a skill. The absolute best you can come up with is "well it's not perfectly transferrable!". You know what else isn't perfectly transferrable? The ability for a man to pleasure a woman, it turns out, experience with a particular woman increases that skill. And yet, no one in their right mind would ever argue that you can't generally be more, or less, skilled in bed. _this_ is what you're arguing.

Sxubas 3y ago

General problem solving is not just finding what is wrong with a machine, which is the domain you are referring to. Here are some examples where that 'algorithm' might not give you a headstart: How should I cook this meal? How should I direct this presentation to maximize the chance of them to buy the product/service ? What should I do to not starve if lost in the woods? How can I detect friendships that are not beneficial for me in the long run? How can I tell if this media content is true or false? We all have some sort of familiarity with most types of domains, so you might be inclined to think it is due to your 'problem solving' skill. However, the point of the article is that you can't transfer your skill level in one domain to another. It's easy to see as if it wasn't that way, recruiting software engineers would be trivial: apply a test for a proxy and that would be your predictor for performance. This is not the case as (afaik) not even big tech has hit the nail with their recruiting processes.

PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
> However, the point of the article is that you can't transfer your skill level in one domain to another. This is like the study I saw in the 90's where they concluded heterosexual couples are more likely to have children then homosexual couples. yeah, no shit. The point _I_ was referring to is the idea that general problem solving isn't a skill. The absolute best you can come up with is "well it's not perfectly transferrable!". You know what else isn't perfectly transferrable? The ability for a man to pleasure a woman, it turns out, experience with a particular woman increases that skill. And yet, no one in their right mind would ever argue that you can't generally be more, or less, skilled in bed. _this_ is what you're arguing.