The Expert Myth
What it is
Veritasium examines which experts have real expertise, drawing on chess research and work by Klein and Kahneman. It explains that expertise comes from pattern recognition built through deliberate practice in valid, feedback-rich environments.
Why Hacker News recommends it
Frequently recommended in threads on learning, the 10,000 hours rule and deliberate practice as a clearer account of how expertise develops.
- 6 people recommended it
- 5 different months
- 3 strong recommendations
- first 2022, last 2026
What HN commenters said
“Also check out the video here, it's worth a watch”
Becoming an expert at any age
Zensynthium, 2022-10 · Strong recommendation · in “Ask HN: 10k hours rule to master anything. Could I switch career when I am 43?”
“My favourite talk in the subject is this one from Veritasium”
Favorite talk on deliberate practice
angarg12, 2023-07 · Strong recommendation · in “Learning needs to be effortful to be effective”
“Veritasium has a really good video on the subject [0], with a much more compelling explanation for what it takes to develop expertise.”
Explains what it takes to develop expertise beyond hours
lolinder, 2024-12 · Strong recommendation · in “Learn perfect pitch in 15 years”
“you need 4 things to become an expert.”
Four ingredients for becoming an expert, with timestamps
ourmandave, 2022-10 · Recommendation · in “Ask HN: 10k hours rule to master anything. Could I switch career when I am 43?”
“Another amazing YouTuber is Veritasium.”
Veritasium's later high-production video
somenameforme, 2023-03 · Recommendation · in “How to Start a Rocket Engine”
“The Veritasium youtube channel has a few interesting videos related to this topic”
Video on becoming an expert
swframe2, 2024-02 · Recommendation · in “Ask HN: Slow thinkers, how do you compensate for your lack of quick-wittedness?”
Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.
Topics: expertise, deliberate practice, chess, pattern recognition, learning
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