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What does talent even mean anymore? What did it ever mean? Trying to quantify it through tests is such a… bullshit proposition. If you had Steve Jobs take a m

What does talent even mean anymore? What did it ever mean? Trying to quantify it through tests is such a… bullshit proposition. If you had Steve Jobs take a math test in third grade, I don’t think he would have done very well. Or maybe he would have - I don’t know. Some people only discover math later in life, some people can do trivial math in elementary school very well but completely fail once they get into geometry and logical proofs. The point of the article is common sense - if everyone in the world had the time to develop like Steve Jobs and work through their bs, then we would likely have more successful adults in the Central African Republic. It just goes to show you how powerful environment is - and why everyone wants to move to America. A good reminder to be thankful to live in this country.

rufus_foreman 3y ago
>> If you had Steve Jobs take a math test in third grade, I don’t think he would have done very well. He apparently never passed a single test or even completed an assignment in fifth grade.
hirvi74 3y ago
> What did it ever mean? Probably the same thing it has always meant -- whatever people want it to mean. > Trying to quantify it through tests is such a… bullshit proposition. I completely agree. I think one of the biggest disservice of modern-ish thinking is how quickly we are to write-off individuals. Humans are creatures that are full of endless surprises, and sometimes it merely just takes being in the right place at the right time to achieve greatness. A person with an IQ of 100 is considered to be of average intelligence. However, I think it would be laughable, and a downright disservice, to claim that a person with an average IQ is only capable of average accomplishments because some proprietary test that has been arbitrarily slapped together with an equally laughably low correlation coefficient of 0.20 or whatever says so. I find all this idea to be so damaging to people. One does not have to be "greater than" to be great. How many successful musicians have had great careers despite average abilities? How many virtuosos have accomplished nothing noteworthy? Jimi Hendrix and Bach are both talented, but who is more talented? I think the better question is, "Who fucking cares? Why does it even matter?" They both created music that millions enjoy, and that is what truly matters. At least, to me.

rufus_foreman 3y ago

>> If you had Steve Jobs take a math test in third grade, I don’t think he would have done very well. He apparently never passed a single test or even completed an assignment in fifth grade.

hirvi74 3y ago

> What did it ever mean? Probably the same thing it has always meant -- whatever people want it to mean. > Trying to quantify it through tests is such a… bullshit proposition. I completely agree. I think one of the biggest disservice of modern-ish thinking is how quickly we are to write-off individuals. Humans are creatures that are full of endless surprises, and sometimes it merely just takes being in the right place at the right time to achieve greatness. A person with an IQ of 100 is considered to be of average intelligence. However, I think it would be laughable, and a downright disservice, to claim that a person with an average IQ is only capable of average accomplishments because some proprietary test that has been arbitrarily slapped together with an equally laughably low correlation coefficient of 0.20 or whatever says so. I find all this idea to be so damaging to people. One does not have to be "greater than" to be great. How many successful musicians have had great careers despite average abilities? How many virtuosos have accomplished nothing noteworthy? Jimi Hendrix and Bach are both talented, but who is more talented? I think the better question is, "Who fucking cares? Why does it even matter?" They both created music that millions enjoy, and that is what truly matters. At least, to me.