You can learn just as much from watching someone else do the work as you can from doing it yourself.
March 20, 2026
Original Paper
Which Practice Makes Perfect? The Role of Variability and Agency in Adaptive Problem Solving
SSRN · 6442000
The Takeaway
We traditionally assume 'learning by doing' is the gold standard for skill acquisition. This research shows that the 'agency' of physically performing the task doesn't actually matter for success; what matters is the 'variability' of the examples seen, making observation a surprisingly powerful substitute for practice.
From the abstract
Adaptive problem solving—the ability to flexibly devise solutions to novel challenges—is a hallmark of human intelligence. Yet it remains unclear how best to cultivate this skill through training. Some researchers argue that variable practice promotes learning of generalizable rules, whereas others emphasize repetition and mastery of a single problem space before progressing to another. To address this question, 200 adults solved computerized physical reasoning problems under one of five practic