5 ms·

When people say "X is a gift, you were lucky to be born with it", they're probably trying to give themselves an excuse to not put in the effort needed to get go

When people say "X is a gift, you were lucky to be born with it", they're probably trying to give themselves an excuse to not put in the effort needed to get good at that thing.

MikeCapone 16y ago
And at the same time, for many people it's an insidious way to reduce other people's accomplishments so that they don't feel inferior in comparison.
- megablast 16y ago
  Maybe, but I don't think that most people who say this are trying to belittle their idol, rather complement them on the fact that they have a greater skill than others. That no matter how much time someone else puts into it, they will never be as good. And there is some truth to this. You are born a good jocky, most people couldn't train hard to be that small.
  - MikeCapone 16y ago
    I'm not saying it's always conscious, or that this applies to everything. But I think it has a lot to do with how you see the world, and whether you have what Carol Dweck would call a growth mindset or a fixed mindset. I wrote about this a few years ago: http://michaelgr.com/2007/04/15/fixed-mindset-vs-growth-mindset-which-one-are-you/ http://michaelgr.com/2007/04/15/fixed-mindset-vs-growth-mind... I think it applies to many things, and too few people are aware of the distinction.
    - TobiasCassell 16y ago
      Upvoted for the Carole Dweck reference.
sahaj 16y ago
unless you are a good 7' basketball player.
- electromagnetic 16y ago
  7' tall basketball players are only good because the game is played inefficiently. Shorter players have a distinct advantage when throwing underarm and can get ridiculous score percentages. Tall players throwing 'properly' are taking a side-shot at the goal rather than confronting the problem head on by going vertical. Basketball is such a bastardised sport that height and speed are the dominant skills at play in the sport. No accuracy is required when the majority of your goals are scored by (using a soccer term) walking it into the goal. It's pathetic and boring. The entire point of the sport is that the goal is high to challenge players to exhibit accuracy that is rarely routinely (and especially not consistently) required in other sports. Yet that doesn't exist any more in the NBA it's circus freaks putting balls through a hole instead of sportsmen exhibiting great accuracy like an archer.
  - TheSOB88 16y ago
    But if it works, why not?
  - lanstein 16y ago
    Ok, I have to ask: When was the last time you watched basketball? Nobody showing great accuracy? Ray Allen? Kobe Bryant?
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
    - bootload 16y ago
      "... Ok, I have to ask: When was the last time you watched basketball? Nobody showing great accuracy? Ray Allen? Kobe Bryant? ..." From the foul line nobody beats Rick Barry using the underhand free throw ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4eJSjwlD5o&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4eJSjwlD5o&feature=relat...
mynameishere 16y ago
On the other hand, Neil Sedaka didn't have to practice any 15 years to sound like Neil Sedaka.
- JoeAltmaier 16y ago
  Just alittle more practice...
meric 16y ago
Behind that stellar job interview were weeks of preparation. Behind that unforgettable 2 hour movie were millions of hours of work. Behind that elegant half hour piano performance were tens thousands hours of practice. Things you see look easy. They only look easy because the people behind them spent so much effort on it. It's not an excuse; People just know so little about something that they fail to see how much effort it takes to master it; And only because they couldn't do it of the bat, they say its "talent".
gaius 16y ago
But that simply isn't true! What training did Michael Phelps do to get those extraordinarily long arms and flipper-like feet? Now don't get me wrong, he trains like a madman, but someone who trains equally hard without those genetic advantages is going to lose. Doesn't mean it's not worthwhile trying to be the best swimmer you can be. It does mean that you shouldn't get depressed if you can't beat him. The people at the top of any field combine hard work with genetic predisposition. You need both because you will be competing with people with both.
- LSalin 16y ago
  It's a good thing that in our field there is no single winner and the rest are losers. As a programmer, I want to become as good as I can, be one of the few. I might never become better than Linus Torvalds (simply because he'll keep getting better too), but that won't prevent me from achieving my goal. Our field is not a competition. There is plenty of room for a bunch of great programmers.

When people say "X is a gift, you were lucky to be born with it", they're probably trying to give themselves an excuse to not put in the effort needed to get good at that thing.

MikeCapone 16y ago

And at the same time, for many people it's an insidious way to reduce other people's accomplishments so that they don't feel inferior in comparison.

megablast 16y ago
Maybe, but I don't think that most people who say this are trying to belittle their idol, rather complement them on the fact that they have a greater skill than others. That no matter how much time someone else puts into it, they will never be as good. And there is some truth to this. You are born a good jocky, most people couldn't train hard to be that small.
- MikeCapone 16y ago
  I'm not saying it's always conscious, or that this applies to everything. But I think it has a lot to do with how you see the world, and whether you have what Carol Dweck would call a growth mindset or a fixed mindset. I wrote about this a few years ago: http://michaelgr.com/2007/04/15/fixed-mindset-vs-growth-mindset-which-one-are-you/ http://michaelgr.com/2007/04/15/fixed-mindset-vs-growth-mind... I think it applies to many things, and too few people are aware of the distinction.
  - TobiasCassell 16y ago
    Upvoted for the Carole Dweck reference.

sahaj 16y ago

unless you are a good 7' basketball player.

electromagnetic 16y ago
7' tall basketball players are only good because the game is played inefficiently. Shorter players have a distinct advantage when throwing underarm and can get ridiculous score percentages. Tall players throwing 'properly' are taking a side-shot at the goal rather than confronting the problem head on by going vertical. Basketball is such a bastardised sport that height and speed are the dominant skills at play in the sport. No accuracy is required when the majority of your goals are scored by (using a soccer term) walking it into the goal. It's pathetic and boring. The entire point of the sport is that the goal is high to challenge players to exhibit accuracy that is rarely routinely (and especially not consistently) required in other sports. Yet that doesn't exist any more in the NBA it's circus freaks putting balls through a hole instead of sportsmen exhibiting great accuracy like an archer.
- TheSOB88 16y ago
  But if it works, why not?
- lanstein 16y ago
  Ok, I have to ask: When was the last time you watched basketball? Nobody showing great accuracy? Ray Allen? Kobe Bryant?
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - bootload 16y ago
    "... Ok, I have to ask: When was the last time you watched basketball? Nobody showing great accuracy? Ray Allen? Kobe Bryant? ..." From the foul line nobody beats Rick Barry using the underhand free throw ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4eJSjwlD5o&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4eJSjwlD5o&feature=relat...

mynameishere 16y ago

On the other hand, Neil Sedaka didn't have to practice any 15 years to sound like Neil Sedaka.

JoeAltmaier 16y ago
Just alittle more practice...

meric 16y ago

Behind that stellar job interview were weeks of preparation. Behind that unforgettable 2 hour movie were millions of hours of work. Behind that elegant half hour piano performance were tens thousands hours of practice. Things you see look easy. They only look easy because the people behind them spent so much effort on it. It's not an excuse; People just know so little about something that they fail to see how much effort it takes to master it; And only because they couldn't do it of the bat, they say its "talent".

gaius 16y ago

But that simply isn't true! What training did Michael Phelps do to get those extraordinarily long arms and flipper-like feet? Now don't get me wrong, he trains like a madman, but someone who trains equally hard without those genetic advantages is going to lose. Doesn't mean it's not worthwhile trying to be the best swimmer you can be. It does mean that you shouldn't get depressed if you can't beat him. The people at the top of any field combine hard work with genetic predisposition. You need both because you will be competing with people with both.

LSalin 16y ago
It's a good thing that in our field there is no single winner and the rest are losers. As a programmer, I want to become as good as I can, be one of the few. I might never become better than Linus Torvalds (simply because he'll keep getting better too), but that won't prevent me from achieving my goal. Our field is not a competition. There is plenty of room for a bunch of great programmers.