Talent vs. Work
I know it’s a week out of date, but I found this article on Fortune’s website humorous. It theorizes that talent is largely a myth and success is just a matter of work ethic. My usual response to that is to ask someone to define talent. They then come up with an answer involving some trait a person was born with, and then I ask them how many people my height are in the NBA. It’s usually a stumper.
My favorite part of the article is this paragraph:
So is the New York Giants’ Super Bowl MVP quarterback, Eli Manning, whose father, Archie, was a successful NFL quarterback. Archie was always ready with instruction for Eli (and for his brother Peyton, Super Bowl-winning quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts). Eli always seemed clear that intense practice was key. According to a new biography, Eli Manning: The Making of a Quarterback, “Eli never bought into the gene theory.
Wait, so they’re using, as anecdotal evidence that talent is not genetic, the fact that a Pro Bowl NFL quarterback had two sons who are also star quarterbacks? I’m no Francis Bacon, but might I suggest in future essays not using, in support of your argument, an anecdote that could just as well support the opposing one?
My personal belief is that it’s half and half. I was able to succeed pretty well at poker, and I surely worked pretty hard at it, at least for the first four or five years. But if I had been born with 30 fewer IQ points, how well would I have done? Quite possibly still well, but probably nowhere near enough to do it for a living for as long as I did.
The same is true of any physical pursuit. LeBron James may work incredibly hard. But he scores about 5 times the average points per game for the league. Does he work 5 times as much? Given how much effort it takes just to make the NBA, I’d argue that’s physically impossible. I’d argue that twice as much is too.
Does he practice better? If so, how? He never played college ball. He had the same high school coaches as those around him, none of whom have gone anywhere, and he’s been on the Cavaliers since he went pro. Where does a practice regimen that’s that much better than everyone else’s come from? And why don’t his teammates do it too? Surely they would if it would make them LeBron James.
I think talent may be overrated, don’t get me wrong, but as a reaction this new school of thought has come up proposing the exact opposite. I’m pretty sure the reality is somewhere in the middle. As much as we all want to believe our moms were correct when she said we could be anything we wanted, some of us just aren’t going to be CEOs or NBA stars no matter how much effort we put into it.
November 4, 2008 at 11:26 am
Actually there are some studies that support the theory that what we perceive as 'talent' is mostly just the result of intense practice. Yes, some of us are born with certain physical attributes (abnormalities) that allow us to excel at a given task outside of any particular work ethic. And yes there are some minimum requirements (for example, a mentally challenged person is never going to excel at academics or sports). But most people have roughly the same IQ and physical abilities, that are, by definition, 'average'. if you allow people to focus on a particular subject, task, etc., and provide them with appropriate training and guidance they become exceptionally good at it (in fact, they become experts). Yes, to be considered 'THE best' you will need an advantage (be 7' tall, have an IQ of 180, etc). However, almost anyone, with the appropriate training and work ethic, can become 'world-class' at almost anything. We want to believe in talent b/c it's mysterious and allows us to feel better about our own shortcomings – primarily an unwillingness to commit to the intense practice required to become great at something. Some specific comments:
“They then come up with an answer involving some trait a person was born with, and then I ask them how many people my height are in the NBA. It’s usually a stumper.” Within the artificial environment of college and professional basketball (and to some extent high school) it still comes down to who works harder. At this point, everyone is on roughly equal footing in terms of physical traits – they're all tall, etc. The best players in the these leagues, the ones you know by name, are the players that hustled harder than everyone else. Moreover, a person of average height has the ability to be exceptionally good at basketball…better than 99.9% of the population. Play in the NBA? Probably not…but that's due to the nature of the game, not 'talent'.
“But if I had been born with 30 fewer IQ points, how well would I have done? Quite possibly still well, but probably nowhere near enough to do it for a living for as long as I did.” If your IQ was average and you put in the same amount of effort to learn and practice the game, I have a feeling you still would have done very well. Even well enough to make a living. Evidence? Look around the poker world. There are quite a few people that make a living off the game (online & live) and I guarantee you that most of them are of average intelligence.
“Where does a practice regimen that’s that much better than everyone else’s come from? ” The techniques used in his regimen are probably fairly standard. It's the frequency and intensity of the workouts that make the difference.
“And why don’t his teammates do it too? ” Maybe they aren't as committed. Even within the NBA there is going to be a curve in turns of commitment to the game.
“Surely they would if it would make them LeBron James.” Not necessarily. That's what makes some people the best and other merely good.
Here's an article you might find interesting:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/07/magazine/07ww…
November 6, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I don't know anyone who has successfully played poker for a living for more than a year who isn't very intelligent. Most of the top poker pros are brilliant. I don't think someone with a 100 IQ could get there no matter how much they worked.
There arenâ??t any that didnâ??t work fairly hard at it either, which is why I'd say the answer is clearly both. There are also other factors (most notably temperament) that probably play as big a role as IQ, and those I'm not even sure can be worked on.