

Wish you were a genius? Just practise - bootload
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article7069310.ece

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arvinjoar
This goes against all my experience. Certainly, practise is needed to become a
master at something. But innate ability combined with motivation and practice
will yield a result that motivation and practice could never yield on its own.

"The fact is that no one is born with innate talent. Everyone is born with a
potential for musical pitch."

Seriously? I've heard so many tone-deaf kids play an instrument they've
practised a lot, only to start out on the wrong note, and continuing all the
way through the song without even notcing. The statement is outrageous to
anyone remotely musical. Some people are born tone-deaf, technique can make up
for that for some beginners, but it will become instantly noticeable for
people who want to master music.

"Every time we learn about which things are teachable, we can improve the way
we educate people and make changes on a policy level."

Now it gets scary, because this is what we do in Sweden. We spend a lot of
resources on stupid people, and we are just fooling ourselves. The stupid
people continue to be stupid, they are unable to learn the concepts behind
math or any other subject they fail to learn, and they continue to fail.

As a smart person, this is downright scary. I have innate ability, spend
resources on me, and I will become a god. This is _not_ true for stupid
people.

~~~
drunkpotato
_I have innate ability, spend resources on me, and I will become a god._

A wee overstatement, perhaps.

Certainly, the distribution of educational resources could be better
optimized, but that won't happen in places where experimentation on
educational styles is impossible.

~~~
arvinjoar
You want experimentation on educational styles? Try the market, because you
won't get it with government schooling. The market is a discovery process, and
today we got to see a spreadsheet on YC startups, some failed miserably, but
many startups (e.g. reddit, dropbox, textpayme) were smash hits.

If the market for education was open to this discovery process, there would be
a lot more gods walking around. As for stupid people, there would be no
incentive to spend more resources on them than necessary for what they'll end
up doing. Sure, parents are free to spend a fortune on their stupid kids, but
it won't do anyone any good, and it's their choice to make.

An article by Lew Rockwell on the subject: <http://mises.org/daily/2937>

Also: When I say "god", I really mean a smart person that is able to reach his
full potential.

~~~
rubidium
you may want to consult a dictionary on that...

~~~
arvinjoar
I chose to give the word "god" a positive, secular meaning. First of all, I've
made it attainable, but not to everyone, just to the ones with ability.
Because that is what the word has always been about, someone with ability
(often someone omnipotent), who is a creator. If you have innate ability,
intrinsic motvation, and the will to practice a lot, why wouldn't you be able
to become a god? I say that you can.

Am I using language in a way counter to what it is for? Maybe. Am I trying to
convey a point I think is important by doing so? Certainly.

