What is a core unit of knowledge?
Can you map out a graph of competence based on individual nodes of ability?
What does it take to implement a merge sort?
Unit: Have a computer
Unit: install a programming language
Unit: download a text editor
Unit: know how to type
… etc, etc,
This can possibly be infinite…
But what if you added a goal?
Goal: Implement binary search in javascript with arrays
I need to learn
- how to iterate over a smaller and smaller range of indices of an array and terminate when done
- how to return from a function
- how to change the value of variables
- how to perform a conditional check given an element
- how to access elements by index
- how to get the index of the last element in an array
- how to access an element based on the midpoint of x and y
- how to create multiple variables,
- one pointing to x (type number)
- one pointing to y (type number)
- one to indicate success or failure (type boolean)
- how to create functions in js
- how to create variables in js
- how to find the midpoint of the range (x, y)
- how to create an array
This is likely what you will need to be “competent” in before you can achieve your goal, at least for a certain implementation.
You might know how to do none, one or many of these bullet points.
But knowing where you are is the important part.
And maybe if you knew where you stood, and you shared it, the people trying to help you know where to start.
Question: are these units reusable?
Yes, you’ll likely reuse a lot of these
Question: who decides what goes in this list?
Anyone with a clear goal. The units of competence can be the “first principles” of ability that can be directed towards a goal. And everyone has different goals. In fact everyone may have different implementations for a goal. So maybe the goals are personal, but the units are universal.
Question: What is competence?
The ability to do something.
Ask yourself. Do you know how to do something, do you know how to do anything?
How do you know?
Deeper Questions:
So could you then take on the task of mapping ALL of your knowledge?
And would knowledge equal competence?