We often think of quantity and quality as opposites. We assume that quality must be sacrificed if one's goal is quantity, and vice versa. Well, It turns out that the two just might go hand in hand, especially in the world of art-making.
The authors of Art & Fear wrote about a ceramics professor who divided his students into two groups. One group was told to produce as many pots as possible. Their grade would be based solely on quantity. The other group was told that the number of pots produced did not matter--they would be graded only on quality. It did not matter whether they made one pot or a million pots, they would get an A if they produced just one perfect pot. Guess which group produced the highest quality pots? The one that was being judged on quantity.
Turns out that the quantity group got busy right away, churning out work. They created copious numbers of pots, and along the way they developed their technique and learned what worked best. On the other hand, the quality group spent too much time theorizing about perfection, and not enough time working the clay. In the end they did not have anything to show for their efforts.
This finding is not inconsistent with what Malcom Gladwell wrote in his book Outliers: it takes 10,000 hours of practice to achieve world class expertise in any particular skill. Hmmm. It appears that there is no substitute for old-fashioned hard work.
So....onward! Let the creative juices flow, put in the mileage, and up your game!
The authors of Art & Fear wrote about a ceramics professor who divided his students into two groups. One group was told to produce as many pots as possible. Their grade would be based solely on quantity. The other group was told that the number of pots produced did not matter--they would be graded only on quality. It did not matter whether they made one pot or a million pots, they would get an A if they produced just one perfect pot. Guess which group produced the highest quality pots? The one that was being judged on quantity.
Turns out that the quantity group got busy right away, churning out work. They created copious numbers of pots, and along the way they developed their technique and learned what worked best. On the other hand, the quality group spent too much time theorizing about perfection, and not enough time working the clay. In the end they did not have anything to show for their efforts.
This finding is not inconsistent with what Malcom Gladwell wrote in his book Outliers: it takes 10,000 hours of practice to achieve world class expertise in any particular skill. Hmmm. It appears that there is no substitute for old-fashioned hard work.
So....onward! Let the creative juices flow, put in the mileage, and up your game!
No comments:
Post a Comment