you're trying to explain high levels of skill with only one factor: hours of "focused effort of the right kind" in reality, inherent talent clearly plays a ver

you're trying to explain high levels of skill with only one factor: hours of "focused effort of the right kind" in reality, inherent talent clearly plays a very strong role. As a crude illustration, suppose math_skill = hours_worked * beta, and assume the "quality" of hours_worked is standardized. While beta is positive for most people, beta could vary a lot based on talent (obviously the function is not linear and may also peak / approach an asymptote. or for some people the function increases more slowly but reaches a higher peak. point is that it's complex).