Personal limits
So, I was going to write tonight about what I am thankful for. To try and join in on the thanksgiving mood. (I have to try because I don't like this holiday). But then I read this article titled "Is there such thing as pure genuis?" which is an excerpt from a book called Outliers. And I thought it was a lot more interesting. So anyway, I'm thankful for lots of stuff, especially you all.
And now onto this article. I've long been a bit obsessed with being good at things. I don't think this is an unnatural sort of obsession. It is like my neighbor Jon said, the sports you like are the ones you think you are good at. And it is certainly true for me. If I don't feel like I am excelling at something, or am on my way to excelling at something, I don't really enjoy doing it. This is sort of a bum attitude to have about things when it really comes down to it, but I think it is a natural one. I remember day dreaming in middle school about what it would be like to be the best soccer player ever. In high school I wanted to be the best frisbee player ever. In college I dreamed of being the best salsa dancer ever. Now let me tell you, I'm not the best ever at any of these things. I'm even not the best ever at anything else. (Surprise surprise!) But that hasn't stopped me from trying. I remember in elementary school we watched some silly movie about following your dreams, and I remember the lesson: You can put anything you put your mind to. Ever since then, and more so in recent years I have been a pretty big proponent of this philosophy. I can achieve anything!
But as I have tried to excel at things an idea has slowly started creeping into my head; that for any given activity or skill there is a personal ceiling. There is a limit to what I can achieve. This article about learning computer science didn't help any.
Now the idea that I can't actually do anything I put my mind to is a pretty depressing one. But it is a real one. I cannot be as good as Michael Jordan is at basketball. Or as smart as Newton was with physics. It just isn't going to happen. And this is upsetting! Let me reiterate. This is upsetting! I don't like to think that there are limits to what I can do. This goes against my worldview, people!
Anyway, this article talks about what it takes to be a master at something. And, let me tell you, it is a breath of fresh air to my worldview:
This idea - that excellence at a complex task requires a critical, minimum level of practice - surfaces again and again in studies of expertise. In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is a magic number for true expertise: 10,000 hours.
Ahhh! There we have it! To be a master at something all you have to do is put in the time! A couple things to note about this...
- Don't get hung up on the fact that they say 10,000 hours like it is an exact number. What they really mean is a heck of a lot of hours.
- The use of the words 'true expertise' here as opposed to say 'best ever' is important. Nothing guarantees you can be the best ever at something. That just takes a little bit more natural skill than everyone else (AKA: Luck).
This is a you-can-do-whatever-you-put-your-mind-to-ists dream!
However, it isn't entirely pulling me out of the whole that I have dug for myself. First, No matter how much I practice, I am just not going to be a great singer. And second, what if I have a number of passions? I don't have time to devote 10,000 hours to all of them! There isn't enough time!
Anyway, I am going to try to continue to believe that I really can do anything I put my mind to and try and squelch that sneaky suspicion in the back of my head that I actually can't.
29 November 2008 09:44am UTC • 544 views • 10 comments
Tagged with talent, best, life, limits, dreams, passions, time
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10 comments
The Anonymous Poppy
29 November 2008 02:02pm UTC
First of all, You are the best ever at being Benjamin Allen McMurray Thomas. (Does that sound like something a mom would say? I mean it, though.) (Also, I can't remember how to spell your middle names. I meant the correct spelling, though. I'm not making a joke.)
Second, I adore Malcolm Gladwell. I can go on and on, seriously.
I like what Gladwell says about whatever-you-put-your-mind-to-ism (as you call it) as well. One of the most interesting things to me in this article is that you (general) can be anything you want, but that we've actually already missed the opportunity to become most of those things. Yeah, you can put in the 10,000 hours to become as good a basketball player as Michael Jordan. At that point, you will be too old to play professional b-ball. And, despite the fact that I certainly can dedicate 20 hours a week to practicing ballet for the next ten years, my body has already denied me the ability to become a prima ballerina because I waited until I was 23 to start.
Though I think that Gladwell mentioned the 10,000 hours figure when he recently appeared on The Colbert Report to promote the book, it wasn't until reading this excerpt that I connected that number with approximately 3 hours of practice a day for ten years. Do you know what I have been doing for approximately 3 hours a day for the past ten years? I am honestly a little horrified by the notion that I might qualify as a true expert in fandom. God, what a waste.
Dread Pirate Benjamin
30 November 2008 08:58am UTC
Benjamin Alan McMurry Thomas. Close! And yes that does sound like something a mom would say. Though, I don't know if my mom would say it...
And Poppy, I know! In another couple years I'll have become a true expert at being on the internet all day.
Anyway, reading back through this post I wish I had sounded a little less self absorbed. "I've long been a bit obsessed with being good at things." I'm sure I could have put that in a way that didn't make me sound like a cocky bastard. I'm not one I swear! I'm full of self-doubt and insecurity!
Robert
2 December 2008 04:31am UTC
TL;DR
Dread Pirate Benjamin
2 December 2008 06:18am UTC
I have no idea what that means.
Robert
3 December 2008 03:01am UTC
Too long; Didn't read
Robert
3 December 2008 03:01am UTC
(I kid, of course. I did in fact read it.)
Boatswain The Fool
3 December 2008 05:23am UTC
(RiL;HDEKHTR)
Dread Pirate Benjamin
3 December 2008 07:37am UTC
Translation, please, Fool?
Boatswain The Fool
3 December 2008 09:13am UTC
Robert is Lying: He Doesn't Even Know How To Read.
Dread Pirate Benjamin
3 December 2008 09:35am UTC
Hah! I pity the Robert!