Visualizing Health and Healthcare Data

Closing Thoughts

Fluency and Mastery

Fluency and mastery at creating beautiful displays of data is not the result of natural talent. Rather, it is the result of an interest in the work, a willingness to practice, a sense of purpose, hope, and optimism.

These traits have been studied and written about by Angela Duckworth, most notably in her 2016 book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. The central question she explores is “What is it that makes someone fluent, an expert or a master at something?” As Duckworth explains, “The thing that was revelatory to me was not that effort matters—everybody knows that effort matters. What was revelatory to me was how much it matters.” She summarizes the characteristics and activities that are associated with a willingness and ability to stick with something and invest the effort in order to become a master expert as follows:

• Interest. Individuals who become experts or masters at something have an abiding interest and passion for it. They are interested and committed to the pursuit of learning and knowing more about it.
• Deliberate Practice. This concept is based on research by K. Anders Ericsson (2009), who found that experts do an intensive kind of practice called “deliberate practice.” Deliberative practices home in on weaknesses and self-assessment; it is practice that focuses on tasks beyond a person's current level of comfort and competence. Or in the words of Aristotle: “The roots of knowledge are bitter but the results are ...