There are domains that I’ve found through trial and error (mostly error) that I really have no aptitude for.
How long did you try and err while testing out these domains? K. Anders Ericsson, known as the world’s foremost expert on expertise, has come up with the benchmark of 10 000 hours, or 10 years, which is said to be the time it takes to achieve world-class expertise in many domains.
I suspect that so-called aptitude refers mainly to habits and skills picked up during early childhood, perhaps accidentally, which we don’t remember learning, as early childhood memory is notoriously flawed. An early start towards those 10 000 hours, perhaps.
There probably are a few genetic quirks, such as syntesthesia, which might help within certain fields, such as mathematics, but from what I’ve read (and experienced), the notions of aptitude and talent are likely rooted in false beliefs and mistaken self-theories. Stanford’s Carol Dweck has done much important research on this topic.
That’s a valid question, really. I probably have several where I could get to expert level with enough practice.
I do have a physical problem that isn’t really treatable with medicine right now. It makes it difficult to impossible for me to do some relatively common tasks, and practice hasn’t really helped me overcome it.
How long did you try and err while testing out these domains? K. Anders Ericsson, known as the world’s foremost expert on expertise, has come up with the benchmark of 10 000 hours, or 10 years, which is said to be the time it takes to achieve world-class expertise in many domains.
I suspect that so-called aptitude refers mainly to habits and skills picked up during early childhood, perhaps accidentally, which we don’t remember learning, as early childhood memory is notoriously flawed. An early start towards those 10 000 hours, perhaps.
There probably are a few genetic quirks, such as syntesthesia, which might help within certain fields, such as mathematics, but from what I’ve read (and experienced), the notions of aptitude and talent are likely rooted in false beliefs and mistaken self-theories. Stanford’s Carol Dweck has done much important research on this topic.
That’s a valid question, really. I probably have several where I could get to expert level with enough practice.
I do have a physical problem that isn’t really treatable with medicine right now. It makes it difficult to impossible for me to do some relatively common tasks, and practice hasn’t really helped me overcome it.
Edit—please disregard this post