Malcolm Gladwell is mostly to blame for the misinterpretation of Ericsson’s original publication. The effect size of deliberate practice can be refined through

Malcolm Gladwell is mostly to blame for the misinterpretation of Ericsson’s original publication. The effect size of deliberate practice can be refined through tighter study methodology; that’s fine, it’s how science works. But the 10k hour heuristic was just wrong from the beginning; and Gladwell and Ericsson had a very public disagreement about this. Gladwell is a great storyteller but he’s no scientist. Part of my professional activities involve coaching young chamber music groups and this idea of “10k hours of practice is all you need” is rampant in the music education community. There is just something qualitatively different about the great soloists that most can’t acquire even with 20k hours of deliberate practice. And that’s ok. I tell these teens that there’s no limit to “better.” And if your goal today, the next day and the day after that is “better” you are already on a track to attain more than the vast majority of humans.