[LAU] OT: talent and craftsmanship [was: Re: OT: Dub Fx]

[Ken Restivo]

On Fri, Feb 12, 2010 at 09:42:04AM -0500, Paul Davis wrote:
> On Fri, Feb 12, 2010 at 8:41 AM, Viktor Mastoridis
> <viktor at mastoridis.co.uk> wrote:
> > Nice topic:-)
> >
> > to me, a talent is a gift, something (an ability?) )that a person has in
> > one's genes.
> >
> > you can develop the talent through work and become a craftsman.
> >
> > You can become a craftsman without a talent
> >
> > Thus, craftsmanship is not a talent, a gift - it's something that we achieve
> > with our will and through effort.
> >
> > you can't develop a talent if you don't possess it.
> >
> > They say: 5% talent, 95% work.
> 
> 1) most of us don't know what are talents are
> 2) "genius is 90% perspiration, 10% inspiration"
> 3) some recent estimates are that it takes about 10,000 hours (*) of
> just about anything to master it. this is said to be independent of
> "talent".
> 4) if you think you can become a craftsman through will and effort
> alone, you probably haven't tried to become a craftsman in anything
> that you lack talent for.
> 
> (*) thats about 5-6 years, working 40hrs a week on a discipline

That number matches my experience exactly. I've changed careers several times now (by age 43), and indeed it generally takes me about 5 years to obtain competence at anything.

-ken