https://www.threepanelsoul.com/comic/talent
It’s an oldie from 2015, but I still think about it whenever people talk about being talented at something.
Related: “Your camera takes good pictures!”
There is merit in practice, but natural talent is very real. One person could spend years practicing something that someone else picks up and surpasses that person in a year.
Im a low low ELO player but enjoy chess. I teached a kid how to play on a summer event, and the kid, probably around 10 years old, never did the same error twice and easily beat me on the third day (around 5 games a day vs me and who knows how many against the other event leaders)
Really humbling, but I think I helped kindle a new hobby for the kid
You did good. Fostering and developing the younger generation.
I compete in video games (smash bros ult) and there is a lot of humbling experiences when you are unable to beat a child that is 10 years younger than you every week for 2 straight years.
I hate that having to work so damn hard on something is the only way to success. I don’t have time to train for everything I want to be good at.
Talent is hard to define. In my opinion talent = unobserved practice/study.
This picture gets the concept across pretty well. But it can also happen with kids that “happen” to be good at something. Like sports. Was that kid a natural at baseball, or did he just watch a lot of baseball games and played backyard baseball a shit ton so he just knew the rules/strats before any of the other kids?
Some people learn faster than others yes, but learning in itself is a skill.
Maybe this isn’t true, but it is definitely 100% more effective than assuming talent is outside of your control or an obstacle that can not be cleared.