The hottest Expertise Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Business Topics

Caterpillar to Butterfly

Software Design: Tidy First? • 1237 implied HN points • 14 Feb 25
🕹 Technology Software Expertise Design Consulting Scaling
  1. As organizations grow, the need for specialist skills becomes more important. It's not enough to have hobbyists; experts are needed to handle complex tasks.
  2. When specialist teams form, their priorities might clash with client teams' needs. Client teams often want quick fixes, while specialists aim for quality work.
  3. To handle increased requests, organizations should empower client teams to solve their own issues. This self-service approach helps manage workloads and creates better efficiency.

Is this a career?

benn.substack • 1713 implied HN points • 13 Dec 24
💼 Business Analytics Data science Careers Expertise Technology
  1. Getting good at something often just takes a little focused effort over time. Many people don't actively try to improve, so they stay at a decent skill level rather than reaching their full potential.
  2. In fields like data analytics, it's essential to specialize to truly excel. Being a generalist might keep you busy, but it can lead to a career without a clear direction or growth.
  3. To stand out and achieve more in their careers, people need to identify a specific area of expertise and commit to it. Relying on being 'good at data' isn't usually enough to make a significant impact.

Ton expertise est une monnaie contre de l'autonomie

L'Atelier Galita • 59 implied HN points • 05 Oct 24
💼 Business Workplace Expertise Autonomy Job Satisfaction
  1. A lot of people feel they lack control in their work lives. This shows that many want more mastery over what they do each day.
  2. Many people would choose to do different things if money wasn't a factor. It suggests that financial pressures limit personal freedom and choices.
  3. Developing your skills and expertise can actually lead to more autonomy. It's like turning your skills into a form of currency that gives you more freedom.
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The Vanishing Hardy Boys

Variations on a Theme • 159 implied HN points • 25 Apr 24
🎭️ Culture Literature Society Science Expertise Critical Thinking
  1. The concept of the Renaissance Man, with its emphasis on broad knowledge and skills, is fading in our society as specialization becomes more prevalent.
  2. Apathy can lead to a lack of critical thinking and embracing the easy path of leisure, hindering personal and intellectual development.
  3. Specialization can create barriers to entry in professions, leading to credentialism and potential dismissal of alternative expertise, while being a generalist can offer a unique perspective and a wide range of problem-solving abilities.

Who pays for 'authenticity'?

imperfect offerings • 199 implied HN points • 12 Mar 24
🕹 Technology AI literacy Generative AI Expertise
  1. Universities are investing in AI literacy for their staff and students, covering various important topics like privacy, bias, and ethics.
  2. Peer-supported discovery and open education communities play a crucial role in empowering individuals to engage with new technologies.
  3. The development and use of generative AI models come with challenges related to bias, authenticity, and the trade-offs between safety and performance.

Bridging the Gap: Navigating the Curse of Knowledge in UX

UX Psychology • 178 implied HN points • 23 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Cognitive Biases Research Design Expertise
  1. The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias where experts find it hard to imagine not knowing what they know, this can impact different fields, including UX.
  2. Cognitive biases like the curse of knowledge stem from how our brains process and remember information, leading to errors in thinking and decision-making.
  3. To overcome the curse of knowledge, involve users in the design process, seek feedback from colleagues, and communicate in plain language to ensure better collaboration and user experience.

How to Learn What is True

David Friedman’s Substack • 350 implied HN points • 04 Feb 24
🚌 Education Critical Thinking Expertise
  1. Be skeptical of claims on contentious issues and don't readily believe them without verification.
  2. Evaluate arguments by reading carefully, checking claims, and assessing the logic for yourself.
  3. Recognize that scientific truth is not established by official committees, but through a decentralized process of expert agreement.

Decisions depend on the decision maker

Overthinking Everything • 419 implied HN points • 31 Aug 23
🚌 Education Decision-making Gaming Learning Expertise Teaching
  1. Decisions depend on who is making them, as individual factors influence the best choice.
  2. Even in games with 'objective' optimal strategies, decisions are subjective based on each player's abilities and knowledge.
  3. Beginners should consider their own strengths and weaknesses when making decisions, rather than just emulating experts.

The Surprising Trick to Consistent, High-Quality Output (It's Not Talent)

WriMoReMo • 2 implied HN points • 23 Jan 25
📚 Literature Writing Content creation Communication Expertise
  1. Reading widely helps you gather ideas and information. The more you know, the easier it is to write about interesting topics.
  2. Writing consistently is key to improving your skills. Just like throwing darts, not every piece will be great, but the more you write, the better you get.
  3. Mixing different ideas together can make boring topics more engaging. By connecting various points, you create a more intriguing narrative.

How to Go to BBQ Hell via the Use of Data

Think Future • 79 implied HN points • 02 Nov 23
🎭️ Culture Food & Drink Data science Critical Thinking Expertise Futurism
  1. The importance of expertise in interpreting data findings - data can sometimes lead to nonsensical conclusions without proper expertise to guide the analysis.
  2. Be cautious of drawing conclusions solely based on data - critical thinking is essential to avoid errors in analysis, like the case of Trip Advisor's BBQ city rankings.
  3. Consulting with longtime experts is crucial before accepting data-driven findings as 'rock-solid' - having seasoned professionals review results can help prevent misinterpretations and errors.

The evolution of expert communities

lcamtuf’s thing • 125 HN points • 12 Nov 23
🎭️ Culture Online Communities Expertise Community Dynamics
  1. Online expert communities follow a general lifecycle model with stages of orderly growth, deluge, crackdowns, meme slope, and terminal plateau.
  2. Uncontrolled growth of online communities can lead to issues like repetitive questions, declining discussion quality, and the need for elaborate rules.
  3. As online expert communities evolve, they might face challenges like elitism, loss of meaningful discussions, and a shift towards off-topic topics.

More I learn, the more I suck 😫— Dunning-Kruger Effect

10x your mind • 59 implied HN points • 04 Aug 22
🚌 Education Metacognition Expertise Problem Solving Skill acquisition
  1. The Dunning-Kruger effect highlights the tendency to overestimate or underestimate expertise based on awareness.
  2. Learning a new skill involves phases: feeling great at the beginning, struggling in the middle, then finding enjoyment and expertise in the end.
  3. Recognizing the 'I suck' phase as a crucial period of progress can help avoid underestimating your growth potential.

The problem with the 10,000-hour rule...

UX Psychology • 19 implied HN points • 09 Feb 22
🔬 Science Expertise Skill acquisition Performance Meta-analysis
  1. The 10,000-hour rule, popularized by Malcolm Gladwell, suggesting practice alone leads to expertise has been debunked by recent studies showing talent and various factors play a significant role in skill acquisition.
  2. Criticism towards the 10,000-hour rule came from meta-analyses in sports, revealing that practice only accounted for a small percentage of the difference in performance levels, emphasizing the contribution of genetics and other factors.
  3. Understanding the limits of practice is crucial as it challenges the notion that anyone can excel if they put in enough effort, and highlights that success is influenced by multiple elements beyond just practice.

Investing's Big Blindspot.

What's Important? • 9 implied HN points • 29 Apr 23
💰 Finance Investing Wisdom Experience Intuition Expertise
  1. Expert investors focus on wisdom over intelligence, using intuition and flexibility to navigate complex situations.
  2. Becoming a wise investor requires virtues like curiosity, skepticism, and humility, rather than just intelligence.
  3. Openness and experience help experts build intuitive databases, making them more adaptable and successful in unpredictable environments.

Book Review: The Crisis of Expertise

Symbolic Capital(ism) • 19 implied HN points • 14 Apr 20
🔬 Science Expertise Public Trust Higher education
  1. Despite concerns about a 'war on science' or a 'death of expertise,' public trust in the scientific community remains relatively high in the US.
  2. Americans have significant faith in science compared to other countries, yet there is polarization around various scientific issues like climate change and vaccines.
  3. The crisis of expertise is not about doubting science, but rather about the struggles over defining who counts as an expert, how their findings are interpreted, and the socio-political implications of scientific discoveries.

🐿️ Leap of Faith - The IPT Newsletter

Squirrel Squadron Substack • 0 implied HN points • 21 Jan 25
🕹 Technology Software Food Safety Engineering Podcasting Expertise
  1. We rely on many experts to prepare our food safely, from farmers to shippers, but we often overlook the importance of software engineers who also play a crucial role in this process.
  2. It's important to question and verify the work of those who create our tech products, just like we do with food safety. Ignoring potential issues could lead to serious problems later on.
  3. The speaker plans to host a podcast focusing on asking tough questions to industry experts, aiming to encourage others to do the same in their own workplaces.