Dr. David D. Timony (@DrTimony)8/23/12 4:12 PM
@George_Haines ow.ly/dbPY5 "You have no talent"
Talent is a label given by people who do not know the amount of practice that has been performed in order to develop observed skills. It is amicroinequity. It is an insult. It says, “You have skills that in my judgment, you did not earn.” Isn’t it a much greater ‘gift’ to have worked hard at developing a demonstrable skill? The owners of these skills are, as are most, unreliable in reporting their own levels of interest and effort. When asked if they practice, they under-report. When inquired about their interest, they are blasé. Isaac Stern, when interviewed by Ellen Langer about his practice habits says that he practices sometimes while ‘watching television programs’ and laughs. Musicians are notorious for under- and over-reporting their practice (depending on who they are trying to impress).
Interest at an early age makes practice seem a pleasure and is thus underreported in history. That is to say, if you had more interest and it was valued and supported more voraciously in early years, you may have had better outcomes.
People want to believe in some inexplicable means by which someone acquired tremendous skill. They hate it when the answer is interest and practice.