81–90 of 102 posts
When people say "X is a gift, you were lucky to be born with it", they're probably trying to give themselves an excuse to not put in the effort needed to get good at that thing.
On the other hand, Neil Sedaka didn't have to practice any 15 years to sound like Neil Sedaka.
Nice. There's also something to be said for picking something you're naturally good at an running with that. I, for example, had perfect pitch as a kid and with no practice managed to find myself in the church choir doing solos. I suspect that had I decided to follow up on it, I would have had an easier time than the author making it into a career. In contrast, I can't dance. And it's not from lack of trying. I've ta…
I've always felt that there is no "God-given talent" or even talent, but simply understanding. I came to this conclusion when people would ask me to draw something for them in art class and I'd explain how to do it and they'd be able to draw it themselves.
I've long been fascinated with why people decide to do their 10,000 hours of practice. Many people I know have talked the talk but then never really had the motivation to walk the walk and put in the effort. Any ideas on what gives people the internal motivation and strength to follow through with practice in the first place?
When people say "X is a gift, you were lucky to be born with it", they're probably trying to give themselves an excuse to not put in the effort needed to get good at that thing.
The people at the top of any field combine hard work with genetic predisposition. You need both because you will be competing with people with both.
He's really good. http://sivers.org/mp3/DEREK_SIVERS-Ready_to_Live-1997-01.mp3
but still, better than I would have expected someone with no original talent in singing to be able to achieve.
When people say "X is a gift, you were lucky to be born with it", they're probably trying to give themselves an excuse to not put in the effort needed to get good at that thing.
But that simply isn't true! What training did Michael Phelps do to get those extraordinarily long arms and flipper-like feet? Now don't get me wrong, he trains like a madman, but someone who trains equally hard without those genetic advantages is going to lose. Doesn't mean it's not worthwhile trying to be the best swimmer you can be. It does mean that you shouldn't get depressed if you can't beat him. The people at…
Our field is not a competition. There is plenty of room for a bunch of great programmers.