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> In a very short summary - talent is time spent on learning or doing something. Which means that anyone can be talented in any area. That’s it. That’s the secr

by bko 1y ago

> In a very short summary - talent is time spent on learning or doing something. Which means that anyone can be talented in any area. That’s it. That’s the secret. Go, and be the next Mozart, Copernicus or Tesla (don’t be Edison, that guy was a dick). I used to believe this. Like many I was swayed by 10k hours. You hear stories like "Mozart wrote his first symphony at 8" but also hear "he must have easily been approaching thousands of hours by that point!" The one thing that convinced me otherwise is bodybuilding. Take Jay Cutler, one of the greats. He started lifting at 18 and reported that in his first year of training, he gained approximately 50 pounds of muscle, going from around 180 pounds to about 230 pounds by age 19. He quickly got his squat up to 700lb, an insane feat. This is what he looked like [1] People don't normally put on anywhere close 50 pounds of muscle in a lifetime, no matter how hard they try. Ronnie Coleman had similar stories, and started bodybuilding at 24, staying natural the first 6 years. He had to gear up to eventually reach the main stage, but he was a beast regardless. It helps when your mom looks like this [2] Talent is so obvious when you look at physical tasks. Anyone who spent significant time at the gym knows there are people that roll in every 6 months that are always strong. Or that runner that can roll out of bed untrained and run sub-6 minute miles. Sure anyone can look good and improve their performance, but some people are just talented. And to reach the pinnacle of performance, you have to be extremely hard working and extremely talented. Now apply that to every other field. [0] https://generationiron.com/18-year-old-jay-cutler-4-months-into-training/ https://generationiron.com/18-year-old-jay-cutler-4-months-i... [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/bodybuilding/comments/8p9mok/jay_cutler_at_age_18_the_year_he_started_training/ https://www.reddit.com/r/bodybuilding/comments/8p9mok/jay_cu... [2] https://www.facebook.com/GymFailNation/posts/ronnie-coleman-and-his-mother-%EF%B8%8F/1054271803397413/ https://www.facebook.com/GymFailNation/posts/ronnie-coleman-...

Etheryte 1y ago
This isn't talent, it's just steroids. It's almost funny how someone can look at that picture and not think of that.
- n4r9 1y ago
  I mean, it's going to be steroids plus genetics plus a massive amount of effort. Few people can look like that after one year of lifting, no matter how hard they try.
  - Etheryte 1y ago
    Yes, you still gotta put in the hours even if you do steroids, but calling it talent is like saying someone is a talented cyclist when they're riding an e-bike against a regular bike.
    - n4r9 1y ago
      Do you think you can apply the word "talent" to someone who instinctively knows how to the various exercises should work, how to use good form to maximise muscle tension and minimise injury risk, how to vary the exercises to hit different muscles etc..? It feels similar to saying someone is talented at football (soccer) if they instinctively know how to make tackles and kick the ball accurately.
- Jensson 1y ago
  Michael Samuelson benched 100kg the first time he went to the gym at 16 years old, some are literally just built differently.
card_zero 1y ago
Robert Wadlow was talented at being nearly nine feet tall. He could be very tall better than anyone, but we don't usually count genetics.
DanielHB 1y ago
People are too obsessed with being "the best" at something, like most things in life skill is a bell-curve. And sure some genetic and environmental factors can be required to reach the very tail-end of that curve, but you don't have to. The only parts of life that require that kind of skill is in a competitive scenario where only one person/team can win. Essentially in zero-sum games, for you to win someone else has to lose. Very few areas in life are really like that, and the ones that are are usually not worth pursuing. Effort and perseverance can get you to 5% end of the bell curve just fine and that should be enough for most people in most areas of life.
- Jensson 1y ago
  > People are too obsessed with being "the best" at something, like most things in life skill is a bell-curve Most of people have dreams that revolve around beating others. If you want your indie game to succeed you have to make a better game than 99% of indie developers. If you want to marry the prince you have to be more attractive (inside and/or outside) than most other people. Or even to solve a big world problem you have to be better at it than most others who tried. Of course you can have a dream to get kids or to marry and live a regular life etc, but people like to also having these stretch dreams and imagining what it would take for them to reach there.
  - bko 1y ago
    I think the big dream thing is overrated in terms of popularity. In some cultures it would be taboo to say you're not ambitious. But most men i know want to marry a beautiful mid, make enough to support a family and watch football on the weekends. The grinders are just over represented in social media and media in general
- bko 1y ago
  I agree. Zero sum games really should be avoided unless it's obvious that you're an extreme outlier. But let's not extend that to paint a false egalitarian view that talent or natural ability doesn't exist and everyone has equal potential

by bko 1y ago

Etheryte 1y ago

This isn't talent, it's just steroids. It's almost funny how someone can look at that picture and not think of that.

n4r9 1y ago
I mean, it's going to be steroids plus genetics plus a massive amount of effort. Few people can look like that after one year of lifting, no matter how hard they try.
- Etheryte 1y ago
  Yes, you still gotta put in the hours even if you do steroids, but calling it talent is like saying someone is a talented cyclist when they're riding an e-bike against a regular bike.
  - n4r9 1y ago
    Do you think you can apply the word "talent" to someone who instinctively knows how to the various exercises should work, how to use good form to maximise muscle tension and minimise injury risk, how to vary the exercises to hit different muscles etc..? It feels similar to saying someone is talented at football (soccer) if they instinctively know how to make tackles and kick the ball accurately.
Jensson 1y ago
Michael Samuelson benched 100kg the first time he went to the gym at 16 years old, some are literally just built differently.

card_zero 1y ago

Robert Wadlow was talented at being nearly nine feet tall. He could be very tall better than anyone, but we don't usually count genetics.

DanielHB 1y ago

People are too obsessed with being "the best" at something, like most things in life skill is a bell-curve. And sure some genetic and environmental factors can be required to reach the very tail-end of that curve, but you don't have to. The only parts of life that require that kind of skill is in a competitive scenario where only one person/team can win. Essentially in zero-sum games, for you to win someone else has to lose. Very few areas in life are really like that, and the ones that are are usually not worth pursuing. Effort and perseverance can get you to 5% end of the bell curve just fine and that should be enough for most people in most areas of life.

Jensson 1y ago
> People are too obsessed with being "the best" at something, like most things in life skill is a bell-curve Most of people have dreams that revolve around beating others. If you want your indie game to succeed you have to make a better game than 99% of indie developers. If you want to marry the prince you have to be more attractive (inside and/or outside) than most other people. Or even to solve a big world problem you have to be better at it than most others who tried. Of course you can have a dream to get kids or to marry and live a regular life etc, but people like to also having these stretch dreams and imagining what it would take for them to reach there.
- bko 1y ago
  I think the big dream thing is overrated in terms of popularity. In some cultures it would be taboo to say you're not ambitious. But most men i know want to marry a beautiful mid, make enough to support a family and watch football on the weekends. The grinders are just over represented in social media and media in general
bko 1y ago
I agree. Zero sum games really should be avoided unless it's obvious that you're an extreme outlier. But let's not extend that to paint a false egalitarian view that talent or natural ability doesn't exist and everyone has equal potential