EXPERTISE AND THE ART OF MAKING DISTINGUISHES

While there are a great many distinctions that can be made—and perhaps hundreds which are crucial distinctions, I have only mentioned a few in this series. There are more. In fact, there are many, many more! Consider all of the distinctions in the following categories: Every meta-program offers a significant distinction in the different ways we can think and perceive, thereby enabling all sorts of competencies. That gives 72 using the current count of meta-programs. The book Figuring Out People (2005) has 60 distinctions and with the new ones, another 12. Every Meta-Model distinction offers a critical linguistic variable without which you cannot be a clear and precise critical thinker. The original book, The Structure of Magic (1975) provided 12, and with Communication Magic (2001) we now have 22. [See The New Meta- Model on the Shop, www.neurosemantics.com]. Every state that you apply to yourself (meta-state yourself with) creates a distinction in your frames and ultimately in your attitudes. It can change the very nature and quality of your inner world of meaning. You can find a great many in Meta-States (2012), Dragon Slaying (1997), Meta-State Magic (2003). The cinematic features of each representation system (the sub-modalities), offer distinctions in how to code information and how to use sensory-based coding for symbolic purposes. Sub-Modalities Going Meta (2005) offers many of these.

We make distinctions because genius is in the details. We have long known this principle, yet it has only been in the past decades with the modeling of expertise that we discovered just how true that principle is. It’s the details, or more precisely, the meta-details, that distinguishes the expert from the non-expert. Accordingly the more global you are in your thinking, the more distance you put between yourself and your ability to produce expertise. The fewer critical distinctions you know and use, the less effective and less competent you will be. And if you process information at a detail level, but don’t know the meta-category that governs it, you will be lost in the details without any guidance.

In Neuro-Semantic NLP, we put a premium on distinctions—on meta-detailing. We do that knowing the meta-function and meta-formatting of the Meta-States Model—something the field of NLP generally still does not know. It is the synergy of a global principle and the critical details of that principle that combines to create the ability to meta-detail. You then are able to hold a principle or concept in mind while you simultaneously specify how it shows up empirically.

Walt Disney did this when he created Micky Mouse as a cartoon figure. The concept that he wanted to convey in his artwork was that of charm. He wanted to create cartoon characters, especially the

lead character of a mouse, who would be charming. But how does charm show up in a mouse? What does it look like? Walt detailed it as puffy checks, big eyes, and large eye lashes. These are the critical success details within a larger frame or concept.

The reason “genius is in the details” is because to think is to make distinctions. Making distinctions lies at the very heart of thinking. Korzybski said that to not make the essential and critical distinctions is to confuse or to identify things that should not be confused. So we make meta-details in every field to create the unifying concept and its critical details.

When I wrote about wealth creation, one of the key skills was meta-detailing (Inside-Out Wealth).l When I modeled expert coaches and created the benchmarking of that excellence, it was meta- detailing that specified the success factors (Benchmarking). You have to know both the meta- principle and the corresponding details. This is not an either/or dichotomy. It is a synergistic combination of both sides of the Scope meta-program (#3).

If you are going for expertise in a field, here is a most crucial skill— meta-detailing. Going meta to the higher principle and then detailing it down to the empirical details. That’s lies at the heart of the structure of expertise.

For more, see Sub-Modalities Going Meta (2004) where there is an extensive description of the skill of meta-detailing.

1. Inside-Out Wealth presents meta-detailing as a key success factor in the wealth creation process.