12 Feb
2010
12 Feb
'10
8:34 a.m.
Jeremy wrote:
... I didn't say talent and craftmanship oppose
each
other. I wanted to make clear that craftsmanship is something different
than talent because it's also a commonplace idea to confuse
craftsmanship with talent.
Since we're talking here, we might as well check whether we know what
we're talking about:
Googling 'define: talent' yields this fair definition:
a person who possesses unusual innate ability in some field or activity
Googling for 'define: craftsmanship' got these:
Aptitude, skill, or manual dexterity in the use of tools or
material. Taking time to make sure a project is done well.
work done with skill and dexterity
The quality of being a craftsman; An example of a craftsman's work
And for craftsman we have:
craftsman - a professional whose work is consistently of high
quality; "as an actor he was a consummate craftsman"
craftsman - a creator of great skill in the manual arts; "the
jewelry was made by internationally famous craftsmen"
craftsman - a skilled worker who practices some trade or handicraft
So things seem to settle somewhere between ability (talent) and practice
(craft). Perhaps it can be said that the performer has a talent for his
craft ?
Anyway, thank goodness we're not talking about music theory. :)
Best,
dp