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I like this author’s attitude. I scoffed a bit when I read about “joy that can be found in mediocrity” but he’s right that you can (and should) just do something because you enjoy it or it’s good for you.
Half-assed means I showed up, tried for a bit, and decided “nah” not ready/worth the entire butt.
Thats more than nothing.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Covering psychology the past several years, I’ve grown used to reading about how classic, viral experiments in the field are failing in rigorous retests.
He dubbed it the “10,000-hour rule.” “Ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness,” Gladwell wrote, drawing on anecdotes from famous success-havers (like Bill Gates and the Beatles), but also on the 1993 paper (which according to Google Scholar has been cited more than 9,800 times).
The replication — conducted by Brooke Macnamara and Megha Maitra of Case Western Reserve University — included a somewhat larger sample size and tighter study controls, and was preregistered (meaning that the scientists locked their methods and analysis plans in place before they collected any data, preventing them from retroactively changing their premise to fit their findings).
Because implied in the rule (at least, to me) is a deeply self-deprecating message: that if we fail to achieve greatness, it’s our own damn fault.
The 10,000-hour rule is compelling in a world that clings to the idea that people rise up through society based on merit.
The debunking studies do provide an optimistic takeaway of their own: We can all improve when we put our mind to it, but we don’t have to hold ourselves to an impossible standard.
The original article contains 913 words, the summary contains 209 words. Saved 77%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Bill Gates the success haver
tl;dr: practice provides an 18-26% improvement, and the rest I guess is just natural talent?
As I’ve grown older I’ve consistently proved to myself that if I keep at something I do get better at that thing, even if it’s a slow process. It’s tough, but long term goals, and persistence does pay off.
Source: playing piano, learning to code, learning a new language. I still suck at all the above, but each day brings me closer to not sucking.
As for ten thousand hours, my advice would be don’t count hours, and learn to enjoy the process of learning.
Makes sense to me. You are either capable or incapable of doing something (badly and otherwise). Practice is just refinement over that.
and the rest I guess is just natural talent?
I skimmed an article linked in the post which mentioned age as another factor, for example, even after accounting for extra practice accrued from starting young.
The factors will depend on the activity though, unsurprisingly.
