"The same expertise that once was true might be slowly decaying. Here’s how to deal with it” - usually such things happen in three cases: change of execution context, change in the scale, and chane in the pace. New technology is usually devaluate previous experience due to differences in concepts and principles.
Thank you for giving me this lens to think with! A really valuable addition. On that note, if you’re open to it, I’m curious to know more about your own experience. Have you navigated a major shift in one of those three areas, and if so, what was an example of the underlying expertise that you found was decaying?
Wow, Michael—thank you for taking the time to write such a rich and thoughtful response.
I just read your piece, and it beautifully expands on the idea that expertise can quietly expire when pace, scale, or context shifts. Your examples (especially the ones around Agile and Cloud) make this decay of assumptions feel tangible and urgent.
What really stuck with me is how often we don’t notice our thinking has gone stale until systems start breaking. And how rare it is to step back and ask: is this knowledge still fit for purpose?
I’m grateful you shared this. It’s made me reflect on where I might be applying old maps to new terrain.
Thanks for a great article! I love the 3 very practical tips you provided on how to test and re-evaluate our mental models ! Now I just need to find a good mental model to keep these front and centre and put them into regular practise! :)
Thanks! And yes... it's one thing to agree with the idea of intellectual humility in an article, but another entirely to build the reflexes and habits that put it into practice, especially when we're busy or stressed.
Questioning something before imbibing it is a well-known learning strategy. But in this article I found that we need to treat our mind so as to not blindly pursue things but follow, understand, chew, and gulp the important messages and not say it for the sake of it. If we provide advice, it should be backed by evidence or maybe an argument. Thanks for this article.
If you were inventing a product it would have to be tested in all sorts of challenging conditions to make sure it could withstand all sorts of conditions.
This is the very same way beliefs and reasoning should be tested and as you say, this is why critique is very important; it highlights blind spots which can either enforce or demolish your own views.
Even, you can read the same sentence over and over but in different phases of your life and the context/meaning changes.
As you say, Eva, life long learning and being open to discussion is the way to go.
"The same expertise that once was true might be slowly decaying. Here’s how to deal with it” - usually such things happen in three cases: change of execution context, change in the scale, and chane in the pace. New technology is usually devaluate previous experience due to differences in concepts and principles.
Thank you for giving me this lens to think with! A really valuable addition. On that note, if you’re open to it, I’m curious to know more about your own experience. Have you navigated a major shift in one of those three areas, and if so, what was an example of the underlying expertise that you found was decaying?
Eva, I replied to you with a post https://michaelpoulin.substack.com/p/decaying-expertise
Hi Eva,
I’ve posted my response for you in my Substack profile under the title “Decaying Expertise”(https://open.substack.com/pub/michaelpoulin/p/decaying-expertise?r=523jdw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true). It is a bit more ’technical’ than lirical. If this is not what you were looking for, please, let me know.
Cheers,
- Michael Poulin
Wow, Michael—thank you for taking the time to write such a rich and thoughtful response.
I just read your piece, and it beautifully expands on the idea that expertise can quietly expire when pace, scale, or context shifts. Your examples (especially the ones around Agile and Cloud) make this decay of assumptions feel tangible and urgent.
What really stuck with me is how often we don’t notice our thinking has gone stale until systems start breaking. And how rare it is to step back and ask: is this knowledge still fit for purpose?
I’m grateful you shared this. It’s made me reflect on where I might be applying old maps to new terrain.
Warmly,
Eva
Thanks for a great article! I love the 3 very practical tips you provided on how to test and re-evaluate our mental models ! Now I just need to find a good mental model to keep these front and centre and put them into regular practise! :)
Thanks! And yes... it's one thing to agree with the idea of intellectual humility in an article, but another entirely to build the reflexes and habits that put it into practice, especially when we're busy or stressed.
Questioning something before imbibing it is a well-known learning strategy. But in this article I found that we need to treat our mind so as to not blindly pursue things but follow, understand, chew, and gulp the important messages and not say it for the sake of it. If we provide advice, it should be backed by evidence or maybe an argument. Thanks for this article.
If you were inventing a product it would have to be tested in all sorts of challenging conditions to make sure it could withstand all sorts of conditions.
This is the very same way beliefs and reasoning should be tested and as you say, this is why critique is very important; it highlights blind spots which can either enforce or demolish your own views.
Even, you can read the same sentence over and over but in different phases of your life and the context/meaning changes.
As you say, Eva, life long learning and being open to discussion is the way to go.