Unleashing the Sherlock within us.
30 Aug 2018In the Mind of a High Functioning Sociopath
Sherlock Holmes never backed down from challenges; he thrived from them. No matter how difficult the case is, his unwavering passion and intense focus enables him to see things beyond the normal human eye. At a single glance, he could formulate countless deductions, and within few moments he could narrow them down to a single conclusion. One could aspire to acquire his boundless intelligence (and sarcasm).
But why Sherlock Holmes? What makes him so special that I am alluding to him in this article related to Computer Science? Surely, it is not because he is a high functioning sociopath. It is not his immense talent nor his incredible intelligence that inspires me to do work, it is his habits and actions when solving a case. In other words, in every case, he performs deep work.
On Deep Work
Dr. Cal Newport, the author of the book Deep Work, emphatically claims that deep work is the state of intense, unhindered concentration that people undergo when tackling on a given task. It is the type of focus that requires absolute attention to your work, avoiding all forms of distractions (including music). Such complete involvement in your work allows you to create less mistakes, learn concepts faster and reduce stress despite working intensely on a short burst of time.
How to Perform Deep Work?
Cal Newport states:
You have a finite amount of willpower that becomes depleted as you use it.
There is always a difference between grinding work and smart work—the former is inefficient usage of energy and willpower while the latter effectively uses one’s brain power to execute certain tasks in a short span of time. Again, the key point is to avoid all types of distractions as they would only impede any work. Such distractions would often lead to something called attention residue
According to Newport:
People experiencing attention residue after switching tasks are likely to demonstrate poor performance on that next task
Doing the job is only a part of the process. One must make sure that the surroundings is completely quiet, well-lit, and enticing for focused learners. One should not expect to produce quality results when half of the time, that person keeps checking Instagram or random YouTube videos. It is important to know that deep work is so valuable in today’s modern (and easily distracted) society because it paves way for deliberate practice—the type of practice that requires long periods of dedicated time yet yields drastic results.
Applying it to Computer Science
I could see this as important for Computer Science students. The ability to completely avoid distractions can probably expedite one’s learning, particularly in this demanding field. Working for a long period of time while watching T.V. or playing video games tends to be significantly less efficient than working on short, uninterrupted bursts. Perhaps this is why Dr. Newport says deep work is turning out to be more and more valuable—in this expanding digital world, people are easily distracted from their everyday tasks. In Computer Science, I hope that I could also completely get rid of my distractions completely, but then again, it’s another skill that I need to learn.