The myth of innate talent

The myth of innate talent

Many people like the idea of ​​having magic in our lives. And what could be more magical than being born with a gift for a particular occupation and demonstrating unsurpassed talent without much effort? The entire superhero movie industry generates billions of dollars on the back of the belief that something magical can happen in life –   a spider bite, exposure to cosmic rays, or the administration of a miracle serum – and the ordinary person will become the owner of supernatural powers.

Indeed, the idea of  innate talent is the central cliché in explaining outstanding success in sports, music, mathematics, literature, etc.

However, there is no magic in real life. Every case that "specialists" pass off as innate talent has a much more prosaic explanation.

Most often, when mentioning the phenomenon of talent, people refer to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Today, no one is surprised when 4-5-year-old children play the cello or other instruments superbly (typically the result of their first systematic music lessons beginning at the age of 2 years). However, three centuries ago, the phenomenon of Mozart seemed to be a manifestation of divine intervention. If you turn to the facts, then Wolfgang's father - Leopold Mozart - was a composer and author of a book on children's musical education.  He practiced what is now called early development. Young Mozart worked with his father to compose music, analyze musical works, and learn to play different instruments. At the same time, Wolfgang began this training work when he was not even four years old! Despite this, the first works of Mozart the composer were only variations of currently little-known pieces.  In fact, Wolfgangonly began to create real masterpieces when he devoted almost a decade and a half to systematic music lessons! This does not detract from the merits of the great composer but suggests a logical question: what does innate or divine talent have to do with it?

The sports world is fond of referring to the example of basketball player Donald Thomas. He is a former basketball player who switched to track and field and, sensationally, won the 2007 Osaka World Championships in the high jump. The case is described in David Epstein's book The Sports Gene. As a member of the Lindenwood University (Missouri) basketball team, Donald once played with his fellow high jumper and demonstrated his unique skill - finishing in the ring (dunking). Later in a cafe, the track and field athlete bet that although Donald was good at ball jumping, he would never jump 6 feet (1.83 m) in the high jump. They proceeded to the university stadium, set the height to 6 feet, and Donald did it! After which, the friend raised the bar to 7 feet (2.13 m), and Donald again made a clean jump. After that, the high jumper grabbed him and took him to the track and field coach. In college basketball shoes, he achieved a height of 2.22 m. Two months later, he was 4th at the Commonwealth Games with a score of 2.23 m. And later won the world championship in athletics, beating Stefan Holm and setting a personal best of 2.35 m. This is an obvious example of innate talent!

Photo of Donald taken from www.sportfaktor.hu

A careful analysis of the case shows that Donald Thomas had good training and competitive practice in the high jump,  He perfectly mastered the Fosbury Flop method (a rather specialized technique for clearing the bar) while jumping at the level of 189-195 cm (which is not an exceptional level, but still relatively high). The Bahamian athlete had worked for many years on dunking in basketball.   This requires the athlete to cover the distance to the ringin several explosive steps, followed by a strong vertical jump to raise the ball above the rim. In nature, this exercise is as close to the high jump as it is possible for non-specific training. Combined with the ideal height for a high jumper, this made it possible for Donald to succeed at the World Athletics Championships. However, despite the opinion of experts that Donald's "talent" will allow him to break the world record, the Bahamian athlete could not jump above 2.37 (the world record is 2.45 m).

To avoid going too far, let’s look at the example of Polina Miller, a famous 400m runner. Every time Polina is shown on TV, commentators scatter compliments about her outstanding talent. Indeed, as a junior, Polina had already won the adult national championship of Russia twice, fulfilled the standard of an international master of sports, and beat the strict qualification standard for the 2020 Olympic Games.

But here is the true story of Polina Miller's talent. From age nine, Polina Miller began daily athletics classes (with a break on Fridays). However, for a long five years, she showed rather mediocre results. All talent evaluations (20m running, 10th jump, 60-100-200m results, and other tests) did not identify her as a future star. Only at age 14, after a long five years of rigorous daily training under the guidance of a competent mentor, did Polina began to succeed in athletics.

Polina's photo is taken from cska.ru.

What’s behind David Beckham's virtuoso free kicks and great crosses? Let's discuss David's Beckham’s success story. At age six, young footballer David Beckham began to catch the ball with his foot, you need to keep the ball in the air without letting it hit the ground) At first, it was a light 5-6 kicks, but the young athlete gave himself completely to this activity, and when he came from home from school, he rushed to practice, dropping the ball again and again but learning from his mistakes and improving his movements. Six months later, Beckham could keep the ball aloft for 50 kicks!  Six months later -- 200 kicks. By the age of 9, David set the record of 2003 kicks! After that, David focused on another exercise - free kicks. His father stood between him and the makeshift gate (a wired shed). David's task was to kick the ball along an arching trajectory so that the ball went around his father and hit the "gate." According to the recollections of his father, in this park, his son made TENS OF THOUSAND free kicks. This relentless practice from a very young age in all weather and with countless mistakes and corrections led to the level of play that we have seen on television. 

Did Mozart, Donald, Miller and Beckham benefit from innate talent?  No, they combined a passion to improve with excellent coaching and years of hard work. We can all benefit from this observation as we strive for improvement and excellence as skiers, cyclists, and runners.

David’s photo is taken from www.pinterest.com