Is it possible to have an Amateur that thinks like a Professional ?
The linked post in the OP is not an essay, itâs just a list of bullet points. It holds together better looking at the individual items rather than seeking out a overarching theme.
The âno-knowledge circleâ of the graph is just a little bit too large, or too near the center,⌠and it would not touch the center of the âknowledge circleâ.
At the center of the âknowledge circleâ is indeed (in the âEl Faroâ case):
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Do net play with the hurricaneâs path.
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Forget all about the favorable quarter⌠it depends always on 1).
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Never use track forecasts from days ago.
If you donât know this⌠you know strictly nothing.
People at the hurricane centers know a lot; therefore they write in probabilities.
At the user end, a probability of 80% may be comfortable, but nobody writes about the âextravagantâ possibilities of the remaining 20%.
Yes. And itâs also possible to have a professional that thinks like an amateur.
Iâve seen a few reports prepared by professionals that are mostly expensive BS.
Indeed, the article (?) in the OP doesnât hold together very well. It mostly achieves to lay down a uselessly narrow definition of the terms âAmateurâ and âProfessionalâ, and badly needs context to have any value. I tend to define a professional as one who does whatever for the money, and an amateur who does it for the joy, but that is clearly not how the writer uses the terms. The titular issue is an interesting one, though, so hereâs some food for thought:
A while ago, I got a call to repair a center console launch with a Mercury outboard. It was in daily use, and would sometimes (as in every few weeks) blow the main power fuse on the engine. The owner was a sports fishing writer and guide who received the engine as part of a sponsorship deal. He had installed it himself, including a highly involved integration of the engine electrics and various ancillaries. At this point you pretty much know that the problem is somewhere in his wiring job, and thatâs how I approached it.
A good while later, I had established that there was nothing wrong with his work. There were a few typical amateur mistakes, like using too many improperly cut zip ties, and routing wires weirdly to get them out of the way. However, the overall impression was of a very thorough job, with obvious evidence of consulting documentation along the way, altogether of a higher standard than what youâd expect on a professionally rigged launch.
So what is âprofessional qualityâ? Itâs the quality people are prepared to pay for, no more, no less. The electrical install on most launches is kinda sad because the margins are slim, and there is no time to waste on routing the wires in properly affixed conduits etc. Sometimes you see truly sub par shit, like screw terminals in the bilges, and thatâs a sure sign that youâre dealing with the work of an amateur. Sometimes you see a properly laid out, Navy quality wiring job in a launch, and thatâs also a sign of an amateur at work, because no professional would lavish so much love and attention on something of such limited value.
To me, a defining feature of professionalism is pragmatism. It is highly obvious if you compare the gCaptain forum with one of the toy boating boards out there. Where others would argue the finer points ad nauseum, yâall just point out what works, because thatâs how professionals approach a problem. Where the amateur can afford to spend his time in the pursuit of insight for the sheer joy of it, the professional just has to fix the problem and get on with his day.
There are plenty more examples, but I sense your eyes glazing over, so Iâll leave it at that.
Oh, and when I finally took a proper look at that engine, I put my finger right on the problem because a bit of the tape holding the wiring loom together had a different texture where an intermittent short had heated it. Thatâs the sort of thing you pick up on when youâve done it for a few decades.
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Iâve been experiencing firsthand the difference between amateurs and professionals having retired in a boating community after a life largely spent at sea. We have some professional mariners in the mix but for the most part, the residents come from various walks of life where their experience on the water comes from playing weekend warrior with family and friends who pass along their half assed way of doing things. They donât like advice on how to do things right because, well, their way has been working just fine.
I help out in the community with dredging issues and odd jobs like towing floating pieces of docks that have broken away during storms. I get help from the retired pros as much as possible but none were available yesterday so it was amateur day.
The first sign of trouble came when I asked someone to get a towline ready and handed him a neatly coiled line I had on the boat for that purpose. He set it aside and reached for the anchor rode coiled on the deck. I stopped him, handed him the coil again and told him thatâs the one I wanted him to get ready.
When I looked back a short time later he was frowning at the tangled mess heâd managed to create out of a perfectly coiled line. The rest of the day was a long scene worthy of a keystone cop movie but thankfully we got the job done with no injuries and nothing broken.
Itâs a life lesson that is teaching me patience as I accept the fact that Iâm not running a relay race with cheetahs but with a gaggle of clumsy house cats.
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Itâs from Farnam Street - They call themselves multidisciplinary and this is what they say at their site:
Farnam Street (FS) helps you master the best of what other people have already figured out.
Packed with timeless mental models, FS will teach you the mental tools you need to deal with whatever life throws at you.
They are big fans of Charlie Munger who is Warren Buffettâ's business partner and that link was found at That Big Picture which is a financial site.
It doesnât explicitly say it that is strictly about amateur vs professional investors but itâs consistent with other links found at sites that focus on investing and cognitive biases.
Makes sense, since that wipes out the delineation between someone who does something well and someone who gets paid for his efforts.
I have a side hustle as an auto racing photographer, and this same argument comes up fairly often. There are a few âprofessionalsâ that solely rely on their photography to make a living, but most of us are really hobbyists, with âday jobsâ. Am I a professional photographer? Not really. I am not going to shoot your wedding or put together a graduation portfolio. . . but, even as a free lancer, I can get a picture of you, your car or your track published in any number of periodicals⌠. .
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I think Klav has said it right, depending on the context itâs not necessarily about the quality of end results. An amateur boater can pick a nice day and have a perfectly executed sail on a perfectly tuned boat with the crew of his choice. No cost to staying home on a bad day.
On the other hand the pro has got to sail what he has with the crew heâs got. Costs big money not to sail.
Also a pro can have an amateur mindset in any one specific category of his job.
Ok get this - I really donât like being negative about things and I truly try not to be, but this so-called essay is a load of claptrap. A bunch of over-used, worn-out cliches that have no context and have no explanation or references. This is supposed to be life-coaching or whatever âFarnam Streetâ claims? Itâs not even worth anything as a conversation-starter. This guy clearly doesnât know what s/heâs talking about and maybe doesnât even believe it either. If s/he does then s/heâs stupider than my neighborâs cat. Weâre just supposed to accept all these wild statements as fact and guide our life by them? I thought this here was a message board for technical people, or at least semi-skilled workers who have a brain? If the article is part of a âfinancial advisorâ type of coaching then it does make some sense on a stupidity level. Alternate points of view are one thing - and a good thing - but this is complete crap and doesnât deserve to be posted on a website like this.
Just sayingâŚ
Fair enough - the overarching theme is crap - but each bullet point can be refuted with examples and references but Iâm not going to waste my time doing the OPâs work for themâŚ
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Yes, same as Scout Law: Scout Law . A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent. A Scout is trustworthy. A Scout tells the truth.
Itâs prescriptive not descriptive, Scouts are not really like that.
From here
His name is Shane Parrish (@farnamstreet). Heâs a former Canadian intelligence officer and the owner of the website Farnam Street, which publishes articles about better thinking and decision making and is read by Wall Street investors, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, and leaders across domains.
My thinking is this I âlearned the shipâ and studied the sea for many years in different sectors; military, towing, coast-wise, deep-sea from E-1 to master.
There is a point of diminishing returns. By contrast leaning human factors, in my experience at least, has high returns for low effort.
YMMV.
Iâm really pissed that Cats were denigrated and spoken so poorly of in that post⌠Hiss Hiss.
Not sure about cats. They just do what they feel like. Doesnât matter if you feed them or not.
If all you have to do is by her drinks and dinner she is an amateur.
If you have to give her cash sheâs a professional.
If you are anywhere near Boogie Street. Beware the mysterious east.
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Obviously youâre not married!
Or is some pineapple ports in the southern Philippines. . . uh, or so I have been told. . . .
Pros let things go and move on. Amateurs close and then reopen threads to reply (twice).
If the original linked material does something for you, cool. It doesnât for everyone. And that is also cool. Self improvement doesnât require an audience.
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