Why do I feel like I get worse, as I get more knowledgable? 3

[KevinDeSmet]

This one might be a bit filosophical, but either way, as I get more knowledgable about a particular topic why do I feel like I'm getting worse...not better? It's more like a curve, as I go from a complete beginner to intermediate I feel like I am getting better. Ok. However, as I start to become specialised in a topic I feel like I'm actually less capable than I was when I was still at an intermediate level.

Have any of you guys felt the same? Is it of being more critical of your own efforts? Does the knowledge of knowing what can all go wrong actually inhibit you from pushing through problems? I've heard people say this before, but I can't quite put why.

Certified SolidWorks Professional

 

[CastMetal]

“The more you know, the more you realize you know nothing.”
– Socrates

It was true in 400BC, still true today.

 

[TheTick]

Observe any manager, and you will see how easy it is to be confident when one is unaware of the details.

 

[CajunCenturion]

My signature is Einstein's rephrasing of Socrates' claim.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[oldfieldguy]

The more you know, the more you realize what you don't know.

old field guy

 

[tygerdawg]

ditto CastMetal.

Put another way, a wise man told me once, "The older I get, the more I realize I DON'T know!"

Contrast that with what a very savvy Vice President of Engineering told me once, "I am the luckiest man in the world. I am surrounded by Young Engineers who KNOW EVERYTHING!"

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering

http://www.bluetechnik.com

 

[TDAA]

Ignorance is bliss.

 

[ctopher]

You may feel better by being more knowledgeable at more than one topic, like spelling.


Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP4.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[msquared48]

I guess that's why Engineering is NOT an exact science. We just do not know everything. In fact, hardly anything, really.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
Motto: KISS
Motivation: Don't ask

 

[SLTA]

"Structural engineering is the art of modeling materials we do not wholly understand into shapes we cannot precisely analyze so as to withstand forces we cannot properly assess in such a way that the public at large has no reason to suspect the extent of our ignorance."

No wonder so many feel this way!

 

[GregLocock]

There was a study recently that revealed that those who knew little about a subject overestimated their competence, while those who were competent went the other way.



Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[msquared48]

I don't know anything!
I don't know anything!
I don't know anything!

Then again...

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
Motto: KISS
Motivation: Don't ask

 

[SomptingGuy]

The more I learned about motorcycle engines, the less safe I felt sitting with one between my knees.

- Steve

 

[controlsdude]

It kind of fits everytime I go into a food factory, I always regret knowing what they do in there. Of course I cant eat the products they make in that factory after my tour.

Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

 

[btrueblood]

"everytime I go into a food factory, I always regret knowing what they do in there. "

Doesn't work that way for breweries, at least not for me

 

[ctopher]

If someone wants to be a vegetarian, show them video of production slaughter houses of cow and chicken.

Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP4.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[msquared48]

Been there, done that at a Bar-S plant many years ago. It worked that night when my wife had unknowingly fixed a ham dinner. Couldn't eat it. But the effect was shortlived.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
Motto: KISS
Motivation: Don't ask

 

[csd72]

Do you get stuck in the paralysis of analysis.

Engineering is about simplifying reality into nice neat little formula that can be digested by our brain. The more you learn the more shortcomings you know about those simplifications.

 

[oldfieldguy]

One of our electricians came in a while back complaining about the competence (or lack thereof) of a notorious co-worker. His statement was, "I may not know that much about electricity, but compared to HIM, I'm freakin' TESLA!"

so any time you might be worried about your won lack of skills, just think of the guy who made the mistakes you're trying to fix.

old field guy

 

[SiliconeAurora]

People with minimal experience in a science career think it all happens like the movies. You get a problem, use the correct equation, and the answer becomes obvious.

People with real experience in a science career know better. You get a problem, spend a lot of trial and error taking it apart to attempt to understand the root causes, still aren’t quite sure what’s going on but are able to take an educated guess, try a few solutions, find out those don’t work as well as you’d hoped, eventually try something else that mostly works even if you’re not quite sure why, document everything you did, and pray it works the same way next time.

Sometimes I wonder if my high school science education did more to confuse me than prepare me for an engineering career. Ideal gas laws and Newtonian motion have so little bearing on the realities of an unpredictable, chaotic world.