The Password Learning Pattern
February 9th, 2007 · 2 Comments
Every 90 days or so I have to change my password, like many of you. It’s a good security practice, and in most large organizations it’s a required practiced, enforced by an automated bouncer that kicks you out if you don’t do it.
Entering the same password over and over again 10+ times a day is very habit forming, and I have trouble remembering and typing my password whenever it changes. I have observed a pattern in my password-learning cycle that is very similar to how I learn other things as well.
First, I change the password
At first, I forget I changed the password and type the old one first. This last for about 6 tries.
At some point, I remember that I have changed my password BEFORE I finish typing my old one. This is the learning point.
From then on, I remember I have changed my password. I have to think about it before I type it in, and I often type it in wrong because my fingers haven’t learned it yet.
Eventually, my fingers “know” my password. They type it in without any help from my conscious brain.
I change my password again.
For me, this pattern is generally true of how I learn. It is one of the reasons why I think making mistakes at work is neither bad nor something we should deny. Making several mistakes with my password is crucial to learning the new one. In the same way, making and recognizing similar mistakes repeatedly when we know there is a better way makes it easier for us to turn after-the-fact learning into avoid-the-mistake skills.
Here’s how I generalize the learning pattern:
We find something new we think has value to us
We screw up and realize we should have applied the new thing we learned
We try again, this time applying the new concept, even if we do it awkwardly
We screw up again, but not as bad
Guess what? We keep trying to apply the new concept until we don’t screw up anymore (in this area)
Eventually, we get to the point where we use the new concept without even thinking about
We find something new we think has value to us
Talking about our mistakes is extremely important for two reasons:
Other people can give us new concepts which will have value to us by explaining how they have dealt with similar screw-ups
Verbalizing a mistake to others (who can punish us if they choose to) and surviving the repercussions of the mistake builds confidence in our ability to learn, improve, and take risks
Screwing up is the only way to become a gunslinger.
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2 responses so far ↓
1 dave // Feb 10, 2007 at 6:52 am
Two cool links related to this pattern. Thanks Garrett for sending them to me!
http://pragdave.pragprog.com/pragdave/2007/02/two_hands_bad_t.html
http://w3.msi.vxu.se/~per/CP-web/PBDDSKIL.HTM
The Dreyfus model mentioned in these links is interesting – it\’s very similar to the Dungeons & Dragons skill model. I wonder if the creators of D&D and other fantasy writers were aware of the Dreyfus model when they concocted this progression. Cool.
2 Allen // Feb 13, 2007 at 6:13 pm
Something I do is pick a self improvement word to work on for the 30 or 90 day period. By using it as my password I am reminded of it every day. Pretty soon I am paying extra attention to the use of the word by others around me and learning more subtle aspects that I had not considered before.
Thanks for the pattern and the skill gain links =)
Allen
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