The speaker in the video handles the concept of learning new things. He gives an example of learning to take care of a child while balancing it with a career. Learning something new is a perpetual process that occurs throughout life. However, with a busy schedule, it may become hard to get time to find out how to do something unusual. I know I need to learn new things, but I still have the impression that I am too occupied to do it. As a student and engineer to be, this is an important reminder that I will perpetually seek to learn something new. The understanding of the need to constantly learn will help me to be able to understand that life will only get busier, but I should not give up on trying something new.
Being an engineer also includes learning a skill to the level of an expert. From the speaker in the video, I was reminded that it takes up to 10,000 hours to be an expert in anything. However, it would be next to impossible to get 10,000 hours anytime I need to acquire a new skill. As a student, I have limited time to gain a lot of knowledge. The time it takes to learn something new is explained, and the misinterpretation around the 10,000-hour rule demystified. The rule is ideal in my engineering career as it will propel me to the top of my career. However, I should not use it as a baseline for learning everything new.
The speaker in the video indicates that the first 20 hours of learning are sufficient to be able to understand anything. They can be described using a set of rapid skills acquisition steps. The first step towards learning something new is the deconstruction of the skill. The new skill or thing to be learned is dissected, and my focus is placed on the important aspects. I found this to be an innovative approach based on the divide and conquer method. Once the important part has been identified, the second step is to learn enough to be able to undertake self-correction. At this point, the learner will be able to correct themselves and move on to the step of being able to remove barriers to the process. I will ensure that I always break down anything I want to master to make the process of learning easier. I will implement this when studying new concepts and tackling hard problems and scenarios as an engineer.
While starting to learn something new, there are barriers to the process. However, as time goes, the learner can detect obstacles to learning as a result of being able to self-correct. The final stage in rapid skills acquisition is to continue practicing until one can grasp the newly acquired skills well within the first 20 hours of learning. I will implement the 20-hour rapid skills acquisition to gain knowledge on new engineering concepts. It will also help me to prepare better for my examinations. As a career person, I will use these 20-hour sprints to learn new concepts and then develop expert-level skills over time. From the whole presentation, I can understand that the main obstacle to skill acquisition is not intellectual capability but the emotional barrier of fear of feeling not intelligent enough.