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Originally Posted by !@#$%!
took me a 2nd look but i just realized that's a lynda barry comic
she's great
i haven't read that book and i don't know exactly what it argues, but i think in terms of talent + interest + practice as the holy triangle or whatever.
"talent" will give you an ability to do something better with less practice than others, but without interest you just won't practice.
if you have interest in something, you will practice and experience the rewards of achieving something. you don't need massive natural ability, but if you have zero talent, it's going to be very hard.
for example, my eye-hand coordination is pretty shit, so i could never get mario to go past one or two levels. yes i could practice a ton but it was mega-frustrating because of mercury in my nervous system or something, ha ah hah ha. so i gave up on that shit.
on the other hand, i'm pretty great at strategy games like the various civs, so, guess what, i can get deep into it and not come out until i'm shivering cold, take a hot shower, and get back into it. practice yields more rewards because of talent, so i practice more. the virtuous circle (if you consider video games "virtuous" ha ha ha).
i practice cooking every day because i like eating. every day is a reward and every day i become a little better. however, if i wanted to become a professional chef, i don't know that i have the talent that would permit me to make progress fast enough to survive such a high-stakes high-pressure situation. i'm better eater at eating than cooking.
so i have enough cooking talent that i enjoy it in my everyday, but i think not enough that i'd feel so great toiling 16 hours a day in a kitchen in search of glory.
turns out i'm better with words and concepts than with my fucking clumsy hands. while my analytical/verbal iq scores rank pretty high, my eye-hand coordination has been estimated as "not retarded" lololol. there go my knife skills.
so my interest in ideas has waxed and waned thoughout life, and with that so has my practice in fields that involve them, but that's where "what comes naturally" has been most productive most consistently for me. of course it's not the only thing i enjoy, but that's where the talent/practice/interest converge for me most intensely.
don't get high on rocks though! it's bad for you.
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See this is the whole point. This idea that you can become successful in anything just by not having to practice as much as others is a total myth. All the greats in sports, whether it be Roger Federer, Michael Jordan (remember that Nike advert he did about failing?), Tiger Woods, and all the greats in music and art etc. etc. didn't get to their position just by simply coasting.
And how many times do you hear these people being told how talented and gifted they are? What people aren't seeing is the hours upon hours upon hours of practice they did to get to their position.
And that's the point. This idea they these people had something unattainable to the average Joe simply isn't true.