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It's interesting that the article uses sports as evidence that "elites" do exist to some degree. On the other hand, I used to compete frequently and talked with

by rifung 12y ago

It's interesting that the article uses sports as evidence that "elites" do exist to some degree. On the other hand, I used to compete frequently and talked with many professional athletes. Even among that top 1% of athletes, the ones who were the very best (world champions or olympic medalists) usually said that talent is overrated and it's mostly about hard work. That's not to say that I think everyone is born on equal ground. I just think talent should be thought of as having that work ethic and drive as opposed to some innate ability. For whatever reason, some people will just naturally work harder at something, especially when that person likes what they are doing. I've seen this in the work place as well; the people who are interested in what they are doing usually outperform those who are uninterested, even when those who are uninterested may be less intelligent. However, as the people who are more interested continue to work hard, (I like to think) their intelligence will also develop because they are pushing themselves.

vpeters25 12y ago
> the ones who were the very best (world champions or olympic medalists) usually said that talent is overrated and it's mostly about hard work. They say that because they don't have a frame of reference as to what not being talented in their disciplines mean. Their coaches might have a better idea: they would not be in the team if their coaches didn't see raw talent on them. Sports is full of examples of very talented players who tried coaching and failed (Ted Williams, Maradona, Jordan, McEnroe). They just could not understand why something so "easy" for them was so difficult for their players.
vegedor 12y ago
As the term elite (chosen) would imply, the elite can expect the benefit of support. This support is the talent, i.e. any predisposition. E.G. A lack of room to foster is a lack of talent that would be required to work hard. So, I wonder how work and talent are even on the same scale to be possibly compared.

by rifung 12y ago

vpeters25 12y ago

> the ones who were the very best (world champions or olympic medalists) usually said that talent is overrated and it's mostly about hard work. They say that because they don't have a frame of reference as to what not being talented in their disciplines mean. Their coaches might have a better idea: they would not be in the team if their coaches didn't see raw talent on them. Sports is full of examples of very talented players who tried coaching and failed (Ted Williams, Maradona, Jordan, McEnroe). They just could not understand why something so "easy" for them was so difficult for their players.

vegedor 12y ago

As the term elite (chosen) would imply, the elite can expect the benefit of support. This support is the talent, i.e. any predisposition. E.G. A lack of room to foster is a lack of talent that would be required to work hard. So, I wonder how work and talent are even on the same scale to be possibly compared.