
Talent is bullshit - apologetic
http://apologeticwriting.blogspot.com/
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jupiter
I guess the author knows exactly that talent exists but wants to point out
that the word is used often in situations where diligence was more
appropriate.

~~~
nandemo
I'm tired of articles and blog posts like that. They give a strawman-ish
definition of (say) "expert" and then claim that "experts don't exist" or "we
don't need experts".

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swombat
Talent is not bullshit. It's just not enough to either make you succeed or
make you fail.

You can't argue with the fact that some people are naturally talented at
certain things. Whether that comes through practice or genetics depends on
which things you're talking about (I'd say that being a talented sportsman
takes genetics as well as huge amounts of practice, and being tone-deaf
precludes you from becoming a talented composer no matter how much you
practice), but both are factors.

Talent without practice is nothing. Practice without talent is more than
nothing. But that doesn't negate the existence of talent.

~~~
sho
Exactly right. There is an undeniable genetic predisposition towards some
skills. I'm sure everyone has any number of personal anecdotes they can tell.
Anecdotes by themselves don't make something true, sure, but in large enough
quantities they sure suggest it.

Play my friend any song twice and he'll give you a passable piano rendition
straight away. His sister couldn't even whistle the tune. But she knows 6
languages and learns new ones for fun. He says learning a language is like
trying to force a lego brick into his brain through his forehead. Everyone
knows some situation like this. Talent is often obvious from birth and
extremely potent.

As you say, talent without practise - and there's too much of that - is
nothing. Many talented people become lazy and compacent and never realise
their full potential. Many untalented people attain mastery of an art through
sheer determination and effort. But geeze, talent exists all right.

~~~
wepihapg
Do you have any advice on how to learn to play by ear? I can play piano well,
but figuring out a song from a recording is very difficult for me.

~~~
trjordan
Without talent, you must practice. Take a song you don't know how to play, and
start to figure it out from a recording. Once you've mastered that song, pick
another one. There's no secret to any of this.

I've have no natural talent for music, but I put in the hours. When I was 16,
I was cut from my high school musical for my inability to sing back a note
played on the piano. I took voice lessons, got a few chorus roles, and kept
working at it. Over the course of college, I got a few friends together and
practiced a few hours a week. By the time I got to senior year of college, I
got the lead in the play and was performing solos with my a capella group.
These days, I sing with a barbershop quartet - understanding the harmonies
there, let alone reproducing them, was unthinkable 5 years ago.

If you don't have the talent, you've got to work at it. It will pay off, I
promise.

~~~
jerf
I would add a few more points: I forget the exact term, but be sure to engage
in purposeful practice, always challenging yourself with a song _just_ out of
your reach. Start as easy as necessary and work up.

It would be helpful to do some songs that you can get the full score for, so
you can do concrete validation of your correctness. However, be sure that they
are the full, _true_ score; grab a Guitar book of Beatles songs, for instance,
and they're likely to be simplified in a way that won't help on this task.

~~~
unalone
This right here is worth repeating. Never pick something you're certain you
can do. Go for things just out of your reach. Pick things that you're going to
have to strain to do. Do this again and again, and every time you get a bit
better.

Occasionally, attempt something far beyond your reach, just to remind yourself
of what you're striving for.

------
jfarmer
Talent is the principal, practice is the interest rate.

~~~
electromagnetic
Essentially, an extremely talented person starts out with $1,000,000; however,
if they never practice it never becomes worth more than it is. Yet a
relatively untalented person may start out with like $1,000, but if they
practice for hours a day every day for years they'll be worth a lot more than
a million dollars.

When I was about 6 my teacher told my parents that she suspected I was
dyslexic. At 17 I got hired as a video game and movie reviewer. At about 19 I
got a couple of short stories published and currently I'm working on a novel I
hope to get published.

I don't believe I was ever particularly talented at writing, I'm a creative
person, but it's never been one of those 'click' things, I've just wanted it
all my life. Give me a hammer or a saw and I'll build you anything, I even
worked as an electrician for a couple of years. I've put in stairs, I can
plaster a wall as well as drywall, I can wire your house, plumb it and give
you a gas line. When it comes to hands on work I can do virtually anything,
but I've never had this ability with words or writing and I believe this lack
of ability always made me try harder with it. Now I don't want to do anything
_other_ than write for a living; although I wouldn't mind taking Electrical
Engineering, either for work purposes or for building a giant robot army to
take over the world... you know which ever pays more.

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xiaoma
The article is bullshit.

Not a single actor with Danny Devito's height and hairline earns half as much
as Brad Pitt. Nor are there any Olympic medalist swimmers with small hands and
feet. I can't think of any Fortune 500 members with Down Syndrome, either.

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lionhearted
Hey Apologetic - interesting sentiment mate. Two thoughts on writing:

1\. You've got some really interesting points, but there's some rambling
around them. Edit like your life depends on it - cut words, cut words, cut
tangential themes, cut sentences, cut, cut, cut. Favor less over more. Kill
the weakest links in your piece. They won't be pissed.

You started with:

"* Thesis presentation * Examples * Reasons explaining why * Summary

Hello. I'll start off by stating that one of my pets died a couple of days
ago, and I'm probably sucking half the energy required to write this blog post
from the recent event's anguish."

Cool - lots of great writers start with just whatever to get going, and the
good stuff follows. Then remember to cut it in the first round of edits,
otherwise you risk losing a lot of readers out of the gate.

2\. The more you use profanity, the less effective it gets. If you hold your
profanity in reserve, you can really drive a sentiment home when you need to.

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cloudhead
I'm sorry he thinks that way, because it's completely wrong. People aren't
born equal...

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proee
Talent is what fuels the hit show "American Idol." People enjoy watching the
contestants try and fail because they have no talent. It's a sad reality
really... Sorry, but the decision was made when you were born. You either sing
like a star, or you suck dawg!

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trapper
Explain usain bolt.

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Allocator2008
This question of talent can be rephrased in another way: are humans the
product of genetic selfish replicators alone? The answer seems to be no, that
memetic replication has a role as well. If only genes were the factors in what
makes a person "talented", then indeed, people could consider "talent" as the
predictive factor in somebody's success. But we are not only gene replicators,
we are also meme replicators, and therefore, our innate "talent" is not a sole
predictor of our success. I could be for example genetically pre-disposed
towards intelligence, but then if my mind becomes hijacked by one of the
various religious memes out there, instead of using my innate, genetic
intelligence for the benefit of man, I could for example use that intelligence
towards constructing a dirty bomb, in slavish servitude to the meme of
religious fanaticism which has infected me. So is "talent" bullshit? Yes and
no. To the extent that we are determined by genes, no, talent is very real. To
the extent that memes play a role however, talent can either be increased,
decreased, or misdirected towards destructive ends.

~~~
apologetic
Thank you for the insight. I never claimed my blog to be perfect and
invulnerable to attacks from different fields of view. You show an interesting
attitude towards the problem I raised here. I consider religion to be pretty
much the waste of time, but let us not indulge in this personality
representing discussion that could lead to already fought flame wars.

Could intelligence directly relate to understanding of what is wrong (by
understanding how it affects others) and what is right ? Because if I'm
intelligent, and yet I'm a fanatic of something, and I believe that supporting
that cause by killing off people is the right choice - am I still an
intelligent being ? Or just crazy ? Do my genes indicate that I should be a
madman then with the ability to understand technicalities of constructing a
bomb and the chemistry behind it?

