topic: [[Learning]] created: 2024-08-02 *Where you start when you are learning.* ##### what is it? [[unconscious incompetence]] is the beginning of the learning curve, when you don't know what you don't know, and you've seen people do the thing and make it look easy so you think it's easy. They don't value the behavior, or the work required to obtain it. ##### why does it matter? When you are in this early developmental stage, it seems like it will be a snap to acquire a skill. But, the reality of slamming head first into the wall of the learning curve hasn't hit you yet. This is based on a theory called the "Four Levels of Competence." ##### This reminds me of [[Cognitive Entry Behaviors]] as the things you can do when you enter into a training. The concept is similar to the first stage of behavioral change. ##### What would the opposite argument be? When does one skill translate into starting at a lower or higher skill level? Can you ever be aware of your stage of learning? When you are developing [[adaptive expertise]], you can be competent on a meta-level, competence for learning, does that make you skip this phase? tags: #note/idea | #on/learning ##### Sources >In psychology, the four stages of competence, or the "conscious competence" learning model, relates to the psychological states involved in the process of progressing from incompetence to competence in a skill. People may have several skills, some unrelated to each other, and each skill will typically be at one of the stages at a given time. Many skills require practice to remain at a high level of competence. >The four stages suggest that individuals are initially unaware of how little they know, or unconscious of their incompetence. As they recognize their incompetence, they consciously acquire a skill, then consciously use it. Eventually, the skill can be utilized without it being consciously thought through: the individual is said to have then acquired unconscious competence. > [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four%20stages%20of%20competence)