I bring you guys an interesting phenomenon to the table, I'm sure some of you have heard of it before. It was originally used in business as a model for understanding in how trainee's learn a skill but was soon realised to have a wider context. It's known as the 'conscious competence matrix' it refers to a learning model that explains the process of learning any given skill, behaviour or ability. Obviously it is just a theory but I find its application incredibly valid in both my personal experiences and others. Generally people reach a 'point' through their journeys at becoming good at a particular task/skill where they dont have to 'think about it.'

Have you ever driven home and then wondered how did I get here? What route did I take? How about stopping for something on the way home, before you know it you've got home without remembering to get what you needed to stop for. These are examples of doing something without thinking about it. This is known as 'Unconscious competence' Im interested.. have any of you ever experienced this with pick-up? (note, being drunk would not count, im sure we've all experienced that one :-].) Where you open sets almost on auto-pilot. I know I have, when I'm really in state it's like you dont get AA because you dont even consider it. Although personally consistency is my issue here , I can't always be 'that guy' who just cleans up the club.

To elaborate for those interested in the concept, The model works on a system of 'stages' with 4 stages, 'unconcious competence' being the final stage (4). It is worth noting that the author of this theory stresses it is possible to go back 'stages' if the skill is not on a continual development, the whole 'use it or loose it' thing. I find this interesting as I'm sure many of you have experienced this backwards spiral if you dont go out for a while or in other areas of your life such as fitness for example... Anyway I digress, below is a copy of the initial model from 1 to 4... Personally I find it very amusing to read as it seems to resemble a ladder from AFC to MPUA if you imagine it in a 'pick-up sense.'

1 - Unconscious incompetence
The person is not aware of the existence or relevance of the skill area.
The person is not aware that they have a particular deficiency in the area concerned.
The person might deny the relevance or usefulness of the new skill.
The person must become conscious of their incompetence before development of the new skill or learning can begin.
The aim of the trainee or learner and the trainer or teacher is to move the person into the 'conscious competence' stage, by demonstrating the skill or ability and the benefit that it will bring to the person's effectiveness.
2 - Conscious incompetence,
The person becomes aware of the existence and relevance of the skill.
The person is therefore also aware of their deficiency in this area, ideally by attempting or trying to use the skill.
The person realises that by improving their skill or ability in this area their effectiveness will improve.
Ideally the person has a measure of the extent of their deficiency in the relevant skill, and a measure of what level of skill is required for their own competence.
The person ideally makes a commitment to learn and practice the new skill, and to move to the 'conscious competence' stage.
3 - Conscious competence,
The person achieves 'conscious competence' in a skill when they can perform it reliably at will .
The person will need to concentrate and think in order to perform the skill
The person can perform the skill without assistance.
The person will not reliably perform the skill unless thinking about it - the skill is not yet 'second nature' or 'automatic'.
The person should be able to demonstrate the skill to another, but is unlikely to be able to teach it well to another person.
The person should ideally continue to practise the new skill, and if appropriate commit to becoming 'unconsciously competent' at the new skill .
practise is the singlemost effective way to move from stage 3 to 4.
4 - unconscious competence
The skill becomes so practised that it enters the unconscious parts of the brain - it becomes 'second nature.'
Common examples are driving, sports activities, typing, manual dexterity tasks, listening and communicating
It becomes possible for certain skills to be performed while doing something else, for example, knitting while reading a book.
The person might now be able to teach others in the skill concerned, although After some time of being unconsciously competent the person might actually have difficulty in explaining exactly how they do it - the skill has become largely instinctual.

And there we have it! I'll be interested to see if you guys think you can scale yourself on this in reference to pick-up skill? I feel I can, somewhere between stages 2 and 3 at the moment for me. Anyway hope this helps some of you. Peace.