There are barely 10,000 hours of awake time in two years. Nor does the 10,000 hour theory explain, e.g. a friend's son who can decode text lightly encrypted in

There are barely 10,000 hours of awake time in two years. Nor does the 10,000 hour theory explain, e.g. a friend's son who can decode text lightly encrypted into abstract symbols at normal reading speed - a little over a year after after he started to read English. The 10,000 hour theory occupies the same niche as every piece of self-help snake oil, whether it is intended as such: a comforting feeling that the formula will bring success to the reader.