After completing the actuarial modelling class on Tuesday, I had a short but fruitful conversation with my team member, Koh Ying, at the lift lobby. As this was a developer course, Koh Ying came over to support the training and provided guidance to the participants when they encountered challenges in the class exercise.
Well, the topic we discussed might seem a bit dry, but it is important to our work - yes, we discussed why we should learn the fundamentals/concepts, or which I usually call "theory".
From our past experience, we came across many course participants with good skills, but... Well, poor fundamentals/concepts. Some of them may seem to know a lot, or do a lot of so-called advanced work, but when I threw out some simpler but new problems, they were stunned without having a good idea of how to resolve them. They built their skills and understanding on the "surface".
I explained further to Koh Ying why we need to master the "theory" well. For most of our projects, we deal with NEW problems. We need to find out new ways to resolve the problems arising, by using our creativity. However, creativity will only make sense if it is built on the solid ground of fundamentals / concepts. This is how we ensure the solutions we develop are practical.
I hope this short conversation will let Koh Ying the importance of learning the fundamentals / concepts. Perhaps she is too young to understand this well (just the 1st year of her actuarial job!), I believe she definitely can comprehend why I emphasized on "theory".
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