You really have no choice but to be somewhat autodidactic if you develop on the web, but I like to make that point that Tiger Woods has a coach. Michael Jordan had a coach. Coaching is important, because learning happens best with constant feedback.

Just read Moonwalking With Einstein, which touches on this.

Seems like this guy Dr. Ericsson in Florida is the go-to expert on mastery in general.

As working programmers I do think it's easily in our interest to spend time learning how to acquire new skills as well as we can.

Moonwalking With Einstein: http://www.amazon.com/Moonwalking-Einstein-Science-Rememberi...

Dr. Ericsson: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._Anders_Ericsson

In no order: - Word Catcher - http://amzn.to/s1Ykku - The Postmortal - http://amzn.to/rpaQyL - Moonwalking with Einstein - http://amzn.to/tDkRkY - The Post American World - http://amzn.to/4ex38B

Cool article, this reminds me of how the memory championships mentioned in Joshua Foer's book "Moonwalking With Einstein" (http://www.amazon.com/Moonwalking-Einstein-Science-Rememberi...) all workout and watch their personal fitness in order to optimize their mental performance. Gary Kasparov used to also exercise a lot too prior to chess competitions.

Forget about the spammy title, this is an amazing book on copy writting:

Cashvertising: http://amzn.to/nrwKnf (all links have my affiliate link. On my way to richness baby! ;)

I'm currently reading this one, so far so good:

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything http://amzn.to/nGEnkv

This is a small list of books I want to read:

The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us http://amzn.to/oiEIDs

Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength http://amzn.to/qTNpgB

Do More Faster: TechStars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup http://amzn.to/njSDPh

The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement http://amzn.to/okuaFh

The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal http://amzn.to/rptuZ9

The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home http://amzn.to/oaIDgu

Moonwalking with Einstein (the book by the article's author) is a really interesting read. I recommend anyone who liked the article to check it out.

There are some interesting ideas related to Joshua's 'deliberate practice' that can be applied to software engineering as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Moonwalking-Einstein-Science-Rememberi...