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>Personally, I think people put too much emphasis on "natural talent." There may be such a thing... It's comforting to think that we are all capable of greatne
by asdf1234567890 10y ago
>Personally, I think people put too much emphasis on "natural talent." There may be such a thing...
It's comforting to think that we are all capable of greatness. That doesn't make it so. It seems easier to accept with physical prowess. Do you think any amount of practice will bring me, an average Joe, even remotely close to the sprinting abilities of Usain Bolt? Clearly he was born with a physique that I was not. It's plain to see and so, natural physical talent is not something that is hard to accept. Why would natural mental talent be any different?
btw: i'm a high school teacher. I see the difference between gifted, middle of the road and ... um how to put it kindly, academically challenged individuals all the time. It may not be very PC, but there are loads of dummies among us and there's not much they can do do lift themselves up to even basic levels of intelligence. And just to be clear I'm not talking about the intellectually disabled.
> deliberate practice over long periods of time is what makes the biggest difference, and it can beat out "natural talent"
No. It will only beat out natural talent that never bothered to hone the same skills. Combining natural talent with practice is simply unbeatable and no amount of deliberate practice will allow you to reach the same heights.
This is patently obvious with physical ability. Why so hard to accept the same with mental ability?
- srtjstjsj 10y ago> there's not much they can do do lift themselves up to even basic levels of intelligence. > And just to be clear I'm not talking about the intellectually disabled. below basic levels of intelligence, but not intellectually disable? Then what are you talking about? Perhaps you are talking about kids who have squandered their potential, or had it squandered by others.
- asdf1234567890 10y agoyou do realise that intelligence, like any other trait has variability among individuals? We don't all magically get the same amount at birth.
- scott_s 10y agoMy main reservation with these discussions is how much unsubstantiated claims there are, based on anecdotes. You're assuming such a thing called "natural talent" exists, and ascribing success to it. There are other plausible explanations.
- asdf1234567890 10y agoare you suggesting there is no variability between people with regard to intelligence or ability to learn? if all other human traits show variability (height, strength etc) what makes intelligence special?
- scott_s 10y agoNo. I am suggesting that what people call "natural talent" is just general intelligence and learning ability. I think that when people use the term "natural talent", implicit is talent at a particular task, which I suspect is not a real thing.
- asdf1234567890 10y agoThis makes even less sense.
- scottlocklin 10y agoOK, so you don't believe human abilities are statistically distributed. This is a fashionable political statement these days. It's also been proven completely false.