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"Watch a skilled Photoshop operator …"

I've worked with a couple of people who are pretty handy with Vim, process control, Screen, etc. Watching them in their workflow, the hand movements, is mesmerising in the same way a dance can be. Purely anecdotal but they also have IQs that would be around the genius level.

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I consider mastery of a discipline and genius to be distinct. I'm fluid like that in screen and vim, and not particularly smart. Musicians get it - it can be awesome watching a conductor juggling a weak choir in rehearsal with batton and piano.

People who have it probably have more mental energy to devote to other things - which would be a huge advantage - but that's not the sane as 'unprecedented insight'.

I would also agree with that sentiment. What you do on a consistent basis more than likely becomes "short-circuited" into your mental perception of the world that you navigate from day to day. Much like not using a programming language that you knew well for six months can, I believe, cause some kind of "mental atrophy" in that particular skill set.

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