3 ms·
> to be among the absolute best at something [...] 8 hours a day just isn't going to cut it. As I understand it the case studies do not bear this idea out. The
by a8da6b0c91d 12y ago
> to be among the absolute best at something [...] 8 hours a day just isn't going to cut it.
As I understand it the case studies do not bear this idea out. The masters in most competitive fields follow a schedule more like three separate two hour practice sessions a day.
I mean, Carl Lewis trained something like 30 hours a week in total in the year leading up to his world record.
- smt88 12y agoCitations? The Carl Lewis point is totally moot because some athletes are so great that they hardly need to train. When I was in high school, a 15-year-old kid came in and did 5 reps on the bench press at 200 lbs. He'd never lifted before in his life. Not only that, Carl Lewis is just an absolute freak of nature. You can't say "Carl Lewis did this, so it works for most other people, too." It also doesn't matter how many hours masters in competitive fields practice. They may be working, so they can't practice. They may have diminishing returns from practicing and simply want to live their lives. They may be at the limit of their talent. What we're saying is that a developer who codes for 8 hours at work, then comes home to code some more, is going to be better than one who doesn't. It may take a while, especially if there's a big talent gap, but eventually the practice is more important than the innate talent.