diff --git a/content/posts/shape-of-knowledge/death-note-l.jpg b/content/posts/shape-of-knowledge/death-note-l.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3a17ee9 Binary files /dev/null and b/content/posts/shape-of-knowledge/death-note-l.jpg differ diff --git a/content/posts/shape-of-knowledge/index.md b/content/posts/shape-of-knowledge/index.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2efbccd --- /dev/null +++ b/content/posts/shape-of-knowledge/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ +--- +title: "The shape of knowledge" +description: "" +date: 2024-12-11 +tags: [] +--- + +Recently, I've felt a bit lost about where to go in my career. I pride myself as a generalist and love to explore new domains and I felt like web/backend didn't have anything new to offer. + +I've been wondering how `specialists` found their domain and what types of profiles exist in the wild. + +> We value “T-shaped” people. That is, people who are both generalists (highly skilled at a broad set of valuable things—the top of the T) and also experts (among the best in their field within a narrow discipline—the vertical leg of the T.) _ Valve's handbook + +When first hearing this, it felt logical, and then I wondered: do people really just pick a single domain to become an expert in? Shouldn't we value V shaped people more? +Those questions began to sit in the back of my mind for a while and this blog is my answer. + +![](death-note-l.jpg "Painting of an L-shaped person???") + +My first observation was that no domain lives in isolation from the others. To give a simple example using webdev, no backend exists without its frontend. No one can be a backend expert without knowing how your API is going to be used and what could be its pain points. + +{{< alert "note" >}} + +If you feel hurt by this sentence, I hope it can serve as motivation for you to learn a bit about a new domain. fullstack is not a mediocre back & a mediocre front, it is a necessary path to become a better webdev. + +{{< /alert >}} + +The second observation I made is obvious: you do not know the depth of a domain without being an expert in it. You can use the Dunning Kruger graph to illustrate. + +Domains can be hidden behind another unknown to you. For example, you wouldn't know about [NaN boxing or tagged pointers](https://piotrduperas.com/posts/nan-boxing) if you only do [webdev](https://x.com/mitchellh/status/1599117365622767616). + +![](niho2-skill-tree.jpg) + +Seizing new knowledge (aka learning new stuff) is tiring and takes time. Learning everything at once is impossible. Knowing when to learn a new domain and when to focus on the current ones is an important skill. + +Learning is a permanent dance between seizing new knowledge and settling on existing ones. +As long as you don't settle in every domain, you are still exploring the knowledge map. + +![](map-hxh.png) + +I still don't know how specialists define their subjects (do they just toss a coin and never change subject??), but I'll continue to explore new domains while working on my current projects. I recently moved to the DevOps/platform team of my company and I plan on learning computer graphics in 2025. + +I don't have much to say, keep exploring the knowledge map ; I'm sure there's an island or two that are unexplored. + + diff --git a/content/posts/shape-of-knowledge/map-hxh.png b/content/posts/shape-of-knowledge/map-hxh.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e183ece Binary files /dev/null and b/content/posts/shape-of-knowledge/map-hxh.png differ diff --git a/content/posts/shape-of-knowledge/niho2-skill-tree.jpg b/content/posts/shape-of-knowledge/niho2-skill-tree.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..89d3a46 Binary files /dev/null and b/content/posts/shape-of-knowledge/niho2-skill-tree.jpg differ