Michael Jordan Archives

The Myth of 10,000 Hours

What I want to say most to start this off is, “Who came up with ten thousand hours, anyway?!” except I know where it came from and to be honest I am sick of hearing about it.

Ten thousand hours has become common. Journalists have reduced it to nothing. They have beaten it to death. Even when it is not referencing Expertise, you will hear ten thousand hours being bandied about. It. Just. IS.

I hate to break it…no…I love to break it to you. Ten thousand hours means nothing.

The research that spawned this number was performed on 40 violinists and was seeking to find some common experiences and habits among some of the best of them. Those violinists who had achieved the highest levels of skill had accumulated about seven thousand hours of practice by age 18 and about ten thousand hours of practice by age 20.

These data were common among a very small group of musicians from among a small group of subjects. Data on practice time was self-reported. From this article, came our famous misinterpretation by Gladwell who took it upon himself to recognize “experts” in retrospect by attributing ten thousand hours of practice to individuals and groups.

Outliers. Silliness.

Expertise is superlative. It is rare. It is domain specific and its definitions and components do not transfer to other domains. That is to say that those things that contribute to Expertise in violin playing are not likely to contribute to Expertise in another content area.

While some may ask why it is important to make these distinctions I find it compelling. There are other conditions that are necessary for the achievement of Expertise. It is possible for anyone to become competent with enough practice, guidance, and some motivation. It is not possible to become and Expert on these things alone–even with ten thousand hours of deliberate practice.

Many will live out their existence as “experienced non-Experts,” or the more pedestrian “merely competent” despite significant dedication and many hours, weeks, and years of practice. So sorry.

What of the Prodigy?

“Interested, valued, encouraged, supported, trained.” In the case of “prodigies,” this usually ends with “bored. quits.” Or leveled out–regressing to the mean. #Expertise

After a while, you realize the Prodigy isn't that good. — After a while, you realize that the Prodigy isn't that good.

It seems that when someone wants to argue Expertise, they bring the prodigy to the table. What of the prodigy? They argue. The Prodigy did not practice for all these hours. The Prodigy did not receive mentoring. The Prodigy did not…Let me stop you there.

Everyone remembers the prodigy–the wee man on his enormous piano bench. Johnny Carson offers to push the pedals while they “drive.” The audience laughs. “He is good,” we think to ourselves or say below a whisper to those also watching late at night with you. We gather our plates, head to the kitchen, and likely forget the name. That’s fine. It is unlikely that you will hear that name again anyway.

But, let me assure you that the prodigy receives everything they need at the time to excel.

Ted — Let us not pretend that prodigy should be revered

What is the appeal of the prodigy? Is it a sign? Some kind of mental release? Is it the permission that we need–telling us to stop trying so hard? Understand that there are elements in place that allow excellence early on and that those same elements, without the supporting components, are the ones that cause total, beautiful, destruction later in life. Enjoy the flash in the pan; the 15 minutes; the onlookers, hand-shakers, and picture-takers. They love you. For the rest of your life. Today.

The amount of commitment that is necessary to sustain and to back-build the missing foundation…I cannot begin to explain it…is a challenge to great for most and that is why you will rarely hear that name again.

Gumption. Drive.

Missing.

or, perhaps, once that level of fame was found it was enough

–or too much.

You see, working at your maximum potential–if you could–is necessary for the development of real Expertise but it is not sufficient. You will not know what if it was until you get there. It reminds me of a film from a number of years back, or maybe it was a television series. The lead actor was a spy who was recruited by a top-secret group whose Batcave-like lair was behind a wall at a dead-end street. In order to get past the wall, you had to drive directly into it moving at least 80 miles per hour. It was a matter of faith. Of belief. If I believe it, I might get it. If I doubt, I definitely will not.

Welcome to it. Say farewell to the Prodigious Son.

Deliberately on purpose

Deliberate. Purposive. On purpose. On accident.

Our first mentors and coaches are our parents. They determine, from our first days, our exposure to the world. They curate our experiences. They vary our inputs. Our caretakers ensure our stimulation and absence of stimulation. All of this activity rushes to the senses unmitigated and without preference by our nervous system. There is no internal discrimination between sound and noise.

From a cognitive standpoint, we are open–a stormdrain. A waterfall.

It is easy to see every movement of the child as an instinctual motion of comfort or need. After that, it is easy to see how activity is Hebbian: developmental, appropriate, necessary, and purpose-driven. It is in our genetic code to repeat, practice, and perfect–to prepare ourselves to engage with a world that demands engagement.

Typical of most situations, caretakers return to work after the honeymoon period that follows childbirth. Emotions do not diminish but practicality of employ and schedule returns and the rhythmicity of life begins to influence the habitudes of the young. Arranging time for play is the most important thing that can occur in this period as it is play that prepares the young mind for the confounds of the ‘real’ world. In the same way that young cats at the zoo or the wild wrestle, stalk, and bite to prepare for the hunt, our offspring require experience and exploration. Whether you believe that it is age-driven, chemically driven, a function of input capacity, or a mix of them all, you likely mediate their experiences (or at least you should) based on those beliefs. Why would you not?

Look at a seed about to be planted into the ground and see the plant that it will become. If you have never placed a bean into a styrofoam cup on your kitchen window, I advise it. Become accustomed to small seeds becoming full grown entities. Look at that small scratch on the hood of your car. Become accustomed to the development of that scratch into a rusted line and eventually a hole. Get used to the fact that working with your hands produces calluses, deformations of those once straight fingers, knurled scars that tell stories over time; get used to it all.

Get used to the idea that every activity in which a child engages–and with whom they engage in it–grows to become a developed portion of who they are. Some of these skills and behaviors will thankfully become automatic. Consider the ability of the vestibular system to right itself through a triple failsafe system of canals of the inner ear, vision, and musculature. This is a skill that may be taken for granted in the adult but was practiced and refined over and again in so many ways that looked nothing like walking.

That is to say: One did not become a competent walker by walking.

Every engagement or failure to engage shapes the habits and decisions of the person that will be. In some ways it is like trying to operate a tropical fish tank without any tools or measures. Haphazardly managing pH levels. Hoping that the food is enough. Wondering if the water is too warm. Thinking that maybe we should have bought the book. Reconsidering the addition or subtraction of variables that caused some of the residents to quicken, slow, lean, or gulp float.

It is all practice. It all shapes and it all sets us on the path toward becoming.
How actively will we engage in this system?
It does happen without us. It will happen without us.
It does not guarantee Expertise or even competence.

Value added Interest

Every parent wants their kids to be something. Right?

When I was younger I asked my mother what will I be.
Will I be pretty? Will I be rich?

In my post about Athletic Expertise, I covered interest and its effect on activity and thinking. Where there is interest, there comes some pleasure and some level of choice that makes activities like practice and sacrifice enjoyable. One of the convoluting results of this is that those activities tend to go under-reported. The interested individual gains a reputation for brilliance early on and this influence has its effects as well–often detrimental but that is another discussion.

Parents and teachers show restraint when children demonstrate interest in activities, ideas, and pastimes. It probably sounds silly. Children take interest in lots of things. Some of these attract naturally due to a tacit gravity. Others come from immediate social or societal values. Nonetheless, it is common to allow them to explore the world before an investment of time and other resources is made in pursuit of an interest or interests.

Consider the result of a premature episode of value added interest. A child in the back seat of the car takes notice of a plane in the sky. Mom in the driver’s seat did not even notice it skating across the horizon.

That’s right, honey! An airplane. What is it doing?

It’s flying.

It sure is flying. It is full of people going out of town.

Seems innocent enough. Imagine, then, that this type of thing happens with a fair amount of regularity. It may even appear that the child has an interest in planes–even at that young age. Should the parent then make efforts to capitalize on this interest? Purchase airplane toys? Take trips to visit the airstrip or watch takeoffs from the concourse?

Bandura’s reciprocal determinism and later triadic reciprocality addressed the concept that influence is more than a one way street. Simply put–that which influences is, in return, influenced. The parent in the example above could latch on to a random act of the child and set in motion a perceived added value that could influence future choices. These choices may lead to competence. It is also possible that the parent’s choice to add value to this activity takes the child off course and away from future genuine interest and shipwrecks the possibility of Expertise.

Once interest has taken hold, what is the next influence that takes over in the life of a developing Expert? The value that the social context places on the interests of the individual.

Finding consonance or dissonance with the environment is the next decision point for the developing Expert.

How can we encourage exploration, risk-taking, and a variety of experiences without getting in the way?

Is it possible to be a guide without creating undue influence?

Will we know what genuine and lasting interests will be when we see them in our children?

Next step: Skill development with and without practice