Sharpen

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HiWhat's the difference between sharpening one's skills and improving them?

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

I would interpret the first as meaning that you have a fair level of skill and you're going to increase that level to an even higher one, and the second as meaning that your skill level is not good and needs considerable improvement.

Clive · Answer

Not much.

sharpening to me, suggests a bit that one is.making.existing skills better

improving perhaps includes acquiring new skllls

Clive

Soheil1 · Answer

So 'improving' means 'adding to'?

Anonymous · Answer

As I interpret this, both mean increasing one's skill; the difference between them lies in the current level of skill and the amount of improvement needed. In the first the level is already high, and so there is no need for a lot of improvement, just some touching up and polishing. In the second the level is low, and so there is much improvement needed.

As a practical example, suppose you are adept at picking up women in bars. Your skill in this is already high so there is not much improvement needed, just some sharpening of your technique: maybe you want to increase the quality of the women you pick up. But suppose you're a total klutz at picking up women in bars. Then your skill level in this is low and there is much room for improvement.

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