Malcolm Gladwell - Is Talent That Important?

Is talent that important? Malcolm Gladwell believes that ten thousand hours of practice can make anyone a professional; while others believe “geniuses are born not made”. Because of the insufficient supports provided by “10,000 Hours”, and a personal experience of learning drum, “geniuses are born not made” seems more convincing.

Gladwell concluded that “10,000 hours practice equal excellent” through Ericsson’s experiment. However, in his article, he also admitted, “Is there such a thing as innately talent? The obvious answer is yes.” This means there might be some other factors that affect a person’s lay of success. The “star” group’s violinists might be all have talents. Also, there is no clear classification of “professional violinist”. There might be someone who do not have talents but still “have potential to become world-class soloist” through long-time practice, but is this kind of violinists had as large possibility as the talented violinists who also practice more than ten thousand hours? The jury is still out.

A large amount of practice can make a good player, but does not always create an excellent player. There are some things people cannot learn from practicing. For instance, a drum teacher referenced something called “feeling of music”, a special skill that people are born with. Some people have great rhythm and others do not. If someone has a ‘feeling of music’, it will be easier to learn drums; however, if he cannot keep the beat, then his talent will not grow. If someone does not have a ‘feeling of music’, they cannot make up for it with practice; they can never be as professional as the drummer who has natural ability and also practices hard. Therefore, “geniuses are born not made”, special talent requires something that is innate, instead of acquired.

Gladwell’s mis-conclude from Ericsson’s experiment, and the fact that there are gifts from birth for everyone explained