Last week I took a look at the ‘Expose Your Ignorance’ apprenticeship pattern, and this week I will focus on the ‘Confront Your Ignorance’ pattern. This pattern is closely related to the last. Once you have become aware of the gaps in your knowledge, you will need a way to address those gaps. It may seem overwhelming to try to learn skills that you are expected to have in the first place, but this pattern provides insight on where to start. In the previous pattern, you are advised to write down a list of things that you don’t understand fully, and then you can begin confronting your ignorance. Start with one skill, tool, or technique at a time, and educate yourself on the topic. There are many different approaches in doing so, including reading documentation and FAQs, building ‘breakable toys,’ and consulting with ‘kindred spirits.’ Once you have reached a level where you can comfortably work with said skill or tool, you can decide whether to continue honing your skills, or move onto the next item on your list.
I like that they have separate chapters that focus on exposing and confronting your ignorance. While both topics are related, they are entirely different hurdles that need to be leaped over. The pattern also mentions the balance between exposing and confronting your ignorance. Confronting your ignorance without exposing involves learning in private potentially due to fear of criticism. Doing this only encourages that mindset that failure is not an option. On the other hand, you can expose your ignorance without confronting it. This can involve not taking action against your ignorance, which is also detrimental in a team environment.
Like I said in last week’s blog post, it is always best to recognize what you are unfamiliar with and take action as soon as possible. This is especially true in a professional setting, where things need to be completed in a timely manner. Thinking back to my first two years at Worcester State, I don’t remember asking for help often, which was definitely detrimental to me. Now, I am more open to the idea of looking into topics that I don’t have a strong understanding of and reaching out to classmates for help.Moving forward, I would like to continue practicing applying these patterns. Especially now that I am working in a team, it is important to not overly rely on them or drag them down by confronting my ignorance all the time.
From the blog CS@Worcester – Null Pointer by vrotimmy and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.