Loved your investigation! What do you think of Bill Gates' (and others') notion that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master anything?
I have long claimed there is no such thing as "talent,." only the mastering of a craft, avaialble to everyone williing to put in the work. When, as a freshman college student, I saw a concert by The Kingston Trio, I said to myself, "That looks like a fun way to make a living; I'm gonna do that."
This was not a reasonable goal: though I'd done a lot of acting in elementary and high school, I had never been cast in a musical due to a total inability to carry a tune. Yet. after just a year of torturing my dorm-mates with my efforts to even tune a guitar, I was getting paid to sing and play in public.
and still do, into my old age...
Similar to my basketball journey--another pursuit I came to relatively late in life and started with not qualifications whatever (moving from "all baseball, all the time" New Jersey to hoops--crazy Illinois at age 12) I found that both abilities grew because of how much I loved and wanted to do them (and that the basics were simple but you could never stop learning the refinements).
Re your "delibarate practice" idea, I am currently embarked on learning"clawhammer" banjo style, after years of using the Seeger-style strum followed by years of three-finger picking a la Earl Scruggs...
The short answer—one I’ve studied from Ph.D’’s like Ericsson and Pool—is that the 10,000 Hours Rule is misleading. Yes, it can work—but it can mislead. Using the example of chess again, 10,000 hours may be necessary for mastery, but it’s not sufficient. I’d still have to train deliberately by studying grandmasters, working with coaches, getting feedback from opponent’s, practicing specific drills, etc.
What’s interesting is that the required practice time varies by field—billiards may take 5,000-7,500 hours to master whereas the piano requires over 20,000 hours.
But as you discovered yourself, there is no inherent “talent” that makes you a skilled pool shark of concert virtuoso. We don’t need golden tickets to practice these crafts—anyone can try their hand at music, singing, or sports.
What’s great is that you’re already ahead of the game—by studying expert banjo players and focusing on specific aspects of the “clawhammer” style, you’re well on your way to developing expertise with this skill.
I’m currently applying deliberate practice to writing, boxing, and wrestling myself!
Keep me updated—I would love to keep a log on individuals and the skills their practicing.
Through researching methods on peak performance. There’s a lot of charlatans and snake-oil salesmen out there promising easy solutions and shortcuts—Peak and other books refuted these and I found them to be so useful.
Right! Truth be told, I actually wrote this article because I’m sick and tired of waiting around for my superpowers to kick in. All that time spent playing in chemical waste seems to be for nothing…
Loved your investigation! What do you think of Bill Gates' (and others') notion that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master anything?
I have long claimed there is no such thing as "talent,." only the mastering of a craft, avaialble to everyone williing to put in the work. When, as a freshman college student, I saw a concert by The Kingston Trio, I said to myself, "That looks like a fun way to make a living; I'm gonna do that."
This was not a reasonable goal: though I'd done a lot of acting in elementary and high school, I had never been cast in a musical due to a total inability to carry a tune. Yet. after just a year of torturing my dorm-mates with my efforts to even tune a guitar, I was getting paid to sing and play in public.
and still do, into my old age...
Similar to my basketball journey--another pursuit I came to relatively late in life and started with not qualifications whatever (moving from "all baseball, all the time" New Jersey to hoops--crazy Illinois at age 12) I found that both abilities grew because of how much I loved and wanted to do them (and that the basics were simple but you could never stop learning the refinements).
Re your "delibarate practice" idea, I am currently embarked on learning"clawhammer" banjo style, after years of using the Seeger-style strum followed by years of three-finger picking a la Earl Scruggs...
I’m so glad you brought this up, Chuck.
The short answer—one I’ve studied from Ph.D’’s like Ericsson and Pool—is that the 10,000 Hours Rule is misleading. Yes, it can work—but it can mislead. Using the example of chess again, 10,000 hours may be necessary for mastery, but it’s not sufficient. I’d still have to train deliberately by studying grandmasters, working with coaches, getting feedback from opponent’s, practicing specific drills, etc.
What’s interesting is that the required practice time varies by field—billiards may take 5,000-7,500 hours to master whereas the piano requires over 20,000 hours.
But as you discovered yourself, there is no inherent “talent” that makes you a skilled pool shark of concert virtuoso. We don’t need golden tickets to practice these crafts—anyone can try their hand at music, singing, or sports.
What’s great is that you’re already ahead of the game—by studying expert banjo players and focusing on specific aspects of the “clawhammer” style, you’re well on your way to developing expertise with this skill.
I’m currently applying deliberate practice to writing, boxing, and wrestling myself!
Keep me updated—I would love to keep a log on individuals and the skills their practicing.
How'd you come up with this topic?
Through researching methods on peak performance. There’s a lot of charlatans and snake-oil salesmen out there promising easy solutions and shortcuts—Peak and other books refuted these and I found them to be so useful.
🔥
Good sir.
Right! Truth be told, I actually wrote this article because I’m sick and tired of waiting around for my superpowers to kick in. All that time spent playing in chemical waste seems to be for nothing…