The simple answer is "not much." But the more profound truth is that we were learning a metaskill.
Metaskills are skills needed to learn how to learn. They are higher-order skills – like critical thinking, the ability to organize information, the strategy of building on what was previously learned, and the belief that repeated practice can make perfect, or at least result in some improvement.
The principle is that in the process of learning how to do one thing really well, we learn how to learn.
So through Yo-Yo Ma's mastery of the cello, Picasso's immersion in art, and Einstein's deep study of physics, they each learned how to learn. And while the subject can become an all-consuming passion, it can also form a smaller part of our lives.
The subject or topic is almost unimportant – only it's easier and more enjoyable if we choose something we are interested in: basketball, Jane Austen's novels, the gastrointestinal tract – the list is endless. Going very deep into one subject, learning and understanding it over a course of several years, acts as a point of reference that is useful when we learn other subjects.
The Eastern cultures have realized the value of this idea for a long time.
The daily meditation and the repetition of a mantra are all ways to train the mind, to calm it into a state of long-term focus and readiness. The old Hindu "guru-shishya" (teacher-student) relationship stretched over many years and meant the student literally lived with the teacher in order to learn, or rather absorb, his particular expertise. copyright: en369.cn
German philosopher Eugen Herrigel saw the learning of any technical skill as a way to train the mind. In his classic book "Zen in the Art of Archery," he says, "Childlikeness has to be restored with long years of training in the art of self-forgetfulness" such that the archer and the target became one.
In his book, "Awaken the Giant Within," motivational guru Anthony Robbins writes, "Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives."
Even Howard Gardner, renowned author of the theory of multiple intelligences, values the attainment of a single expertise. He calls it a "disciplined mind" and explains four steps to achieve one: 1) identify an important topic or concept; 2) study it deeply over a significant period of time, using various examples and modes of analysis; 3) approach the subject in a variety of ways and from various perspectives; 4) and give performances and presentations to show true and deep understanding.
In our present world of high speed, instant response, and multimedia, words like discipline are little used, and spending 10 years to master one skill sounds quaint. And besides, it takes time away from myriad other options we now have at our fingertips. Does learning how to do one thing really well have any economic or personal significance anymore?
David Perkins, Harvard educationalist and author of the popular article "Educating for the Unknown," stresses that, since we don't know what skills tomorrow will require from our children, our schools must strive to impart real understanding and the ability to apply knowledge to new situations.
Perhaps the deep learning of a single subject can provide that required general reference point to handle different and new situations, not to mention the patience and fortitude to try, try again.
In the business world, the analogous idea may be the vertical business model, which goes deep into one industry and follows the product from beginning to end.
The consulting firm McKinsey & Co. encourages its consultants to build a "spike," or perhaps it should be called a trough: a deep knowledge of a specific industry or practice.
In our personal world, it may imply the steady and consistent cultivation of long-term relationships. And in our spiritual world, that single deep trough may be one we return to drink from time and time again over the years for enjoyment, solace, or simply to center ourselves within our otherwise changing lives.
As my hands descend onto the piano keyboard and I begin the first line of Beethoven's "Für Elise," I become one with the music. There's no boundary between player and song. I play it again and again, carried away by the visceral understanding, integral bond, and perfect sound.
As the music finally ends and silence falls, a feeling of satisfaction sweeps over me, satisfaction that after dogged persistence and long practice I have finally accomplished it. And now, to work on the second line.
对于绝大多数像我们这样，永远不可能成为钢琴家甚至是一般的演奏者的普通人来说，从小学习钢琴的目的是什么呢？无论谁在学会一首曲子之前，都要忍受乏味的音阶、愚蠢的小调，乃至数小时的练习吗？
简单的答案是“差不多”。不过，更加深刻的真相在于，我们学到的是一门“元技能”。
元技能是指那些需要学习怎样学习的技专业翻译能。它们属于高阶的技能——比如批评性思维，组织信息的能力，建立在过去所学知识基础上的策略，以及对反复练习可达完美，或至少可以达成一些改进的信念。
其原则在于，在这个过程中学习怎样真正做好一件事，我们要学的是怎样去学习。
因此，无论马友友（国际顶尖华裔大提琴演奏家，译者注）演奏大提琴的熟练，毕加索对艺术的浸淫，还是爱因斯坦对物理学的深刻研究，他们每个人学到的实际上就是怎样学习的方法。而且，虽然某项技能可能占据你全部的激情，但它同时也只是你生命中的一小部分而已。
选择什么主题并不重要，如果我们对自己选择的某些事情产生兴趣，它只会变得更简单，并能产生更多乐趣，比如篮球，简奥斯丁的小说，或者肠道论文等等，这样的名单可以无限列下去。对于某个主题，要非常深入的钻研，并用数年时间学习和理解，这样才能将其用来作为学习其他技能时的参照。
东方文化早在很久之前就已经意识到这种思想的价值。
每日静思，以及反复念诵符咒，这些都是训练头脑的方法，可以令其平静下来，进入一种精力长期集中的就绪状态。古印的“上师传承”（guru-shishya）可以将师徒关系延伸许多年，而且学生要始终同老师生活在一起，其目的是为了学习，或者更准确的说，是“吸收”上师的特殊体验。
德国哲学家奥根·赫利戈尔将所有技能的学习都视作对头脑的一种训练方式。在其经典著作《箭术与禅心》中,他认为,“经过长年累月忘我的训练之后，恢复的童心”可以让射箭者与标靶合而为一。
在他的另外一本书《唤醒内心的巨人》中，激励大师安东尼·鲁宾斯写道，“绝大多数人没有认识到，当集中自身所有资源以精通身边某一个单一领域时，我们便可以立即得到强大的能力”。
即便是曾提出多元理论的著名作者霍华德·加德纳，也一直对单一技能所取得的成就给予好评。他将其称之为“训练有素的头脑”，认为获得它需要四个步骤：
1、对一个重要的主题或概念表示认同；
2、用相当长的时间对其进行研究，使用不同样本和方法对其进行分析；
3、以不同方式和不同视角接近主题；
4、通过表现来展现对其深入和真实的理解；
现今，元技能还有什么价值？
在眼下这个高速度、快反应，五光十色的世界里，像“克制”这类词汇已经很少被用到了，而花费十年时间去精通一门技能这种事情，听起来甚至有些古怪。除此之外，它还要占用我们做出无数其他选择的时间。无论从经济上还是对个人来说，难道学习怎样真正做好一件事真的有什么重大意义吗？
哈佛大学教育学家，广受欢迎的《未知的教育》一书作者大卫·帕金斯曾着重强调，由于我们并不知道今后什么技能才是必须的，因此我们的学校必须努力给孩子们传授真正的理解能力，以及应用知识的能力，以适应新的形势。
或许只有深入学习某一种技能，才可能为处理其他不同的新形势提供一个普遍的参照。此外，通过一再尝试，它还可以培养忍耐和坚韧的性格。
在商业界，与之类似的是垂直商业模式，这种模式需要深入到某个行业中，并从头至尾跟踪产品。
麦肯锡公司鼓励自己的咨询顾问建立一根“鞋钉”，或者可以将其称之为水槽：对于某种特定行业或业务的深入的知识。
在人际交往当中，这种方式意味着长期培养的稳定、始终如一的人际关系。而在精神世界中，对某一领域的深入或许可以让我们年复一年反复享受乐趣、安慰，或仅仅只是让我们从多变的生活中解脱出来，回归本我的一种方式。每当手触到琴键，我便会开始弹奏贝多芬的《致爱丽丝》的第一章，此时，我与音乐融为一体。在演奏者和乐曲之间没有分野。我一遍又一遍的弹奏，痴迷于那种发自肺腑的理解，不可分割的联系，以及完美的曲调。当这段音乐最终结束，四周回归沉寂时，一种满足感拂过我的身心。通过顽强的坚持和不懈的联系，我最终得到了这种满足。现在，我要开始为学习第二章而努力了。
