Quote: (11-25-2012 02:15 PM)thedude3737 Wrote:
Here's where I agree and disagree with Tim Ferriss:
Agree: Yes, the content of your study is crucially important. But this concept was around well before Tim Ferriss was even born. Any good music teacher knows that the effectiveness of your study is far more important than the amount of time you study. Similarly, I would NOT encourage anyone to go to cooking school. I was actually thinking the other day, I could make a DVD that shows people how to cook on a restaurant level that is devoid of much of the bullshit that I learned in cooking school, yet is much more effective. The majority of cooking school grads that walk into my kitchen (or most other professional kitchens) are utterly useless. I absolutely see the value in recognizing the 80/20 principle when it comes to learning skills.
Disagree: You cannot become world class at anything in 6 months, and it's those types of sensational claims that really piss me off. I was a professional musician before cooking called. I've been playing since I was 11 and the reason I got good was a natural disposition towards learning the "right" skills, a great teacher that presented the right material to me, and A WHOLE FUCKING HELL OF A LOT OF HARD WORK. I used to play 6 hours a day, and we're talking 6 hours of the good stuff. Pujol left hand exercises, Guliani right hands, Segovia Scales. I got good, fast. After 2 years of playing I was tackling Villa Lobos, Bach, Barrios, and guitar repertoire that most musicians attempt after 4-5 years. Absolutely NOTHING on that level happens after 6 months, I don't care if you're fucking Rain Man.
Similarly, you will not be a great cook in less than 2 years. Most decent cooks take 4-5 years. You might learn the techniques, you might learn the tricks, you might have more "real world" knowledge that sets you apart, but you simply CANNOT develop the muscle memory to make the right movements and excel at cooking in 6 months. Tim Ferriss might have picked up some great cooking skills, but that is ENTIRELY DIFFERENT than being a line cook (I'd love to see him last a month in any decent restaurant). See the difference? I see a huge benefit in his methods if you want to get to an intermediate level, quickly, in damn near any skill set on earth. Congrats to the guy for that. But he should stop batting around "World class this or that".
I'm confident that I could walk into any professional kitchen on earth and do pretty well for myself. Much like playing music, after cooking for 10+ you start to see patterns, form connections in your head, and what I would call "Turbocharging your muscle memory". Maybe I already utilize some of the techniques Tim Ferriss preaches about, I'm not sure. But I would NEVER make any lofty claims that anyone can do this shit after 6 months.
Again, my issue is not with what Tim Ferriss does. If he's helping people learn how to learn, fantastic. But his ridiculous claims and sensational tone with which he presents information triggers every alarm in my head that just screams, "Bullshit".
I think you are right. He is mostly a bullshit artist. One of the greatest bullshit artists of all time. Bull shitted his way to millions of dollars! A master promoter and salesmen.
His perspective is very interesting and I have learned from him.
But, I must admit, its alot of bullshit, with some great cutting edge thinking and business lessons mixed in.
80% bullshit - 20% genius. Thats my opinion