Re: Practice Makes Perfect

From: Beckett, Duan (dhb295@soton.ac.uk)
Date: Sun May 26 1996 - 15:58:23 BST


Practice makes perfect in relation to creativity

This is the concept where it is believed that we are either born with
'talents', known as innate potentials, or have to work to attain a high
level of ability at a certain task.

To believe in people having 'talents' it to agree with the idea that
everyone is biologically predisposed for certain tasks. So that when we
are born we already have innate abilities as certain tasks. For example
top sports people are considered to be very talented e.g. Linford
Christie at the hundred metres or Gary Kasparov at chess, but this
takes in no consideration of the time or effort these people put in to
be that good.

Practice makes perfect is the idea that there are no 'gifts' but just
hard work. If someone spends twice as long practicing e.g. a musical
instrument than someone else the chances are that that person will be
alot more competent at it. For exmaple a study was carried out with a
group of music students, all the same age, where the amount of time
they spent practicing was found. The top students in the class, all
thought of as gifted, praticed for around ten thousand hours a year.
This figure is twice that of most of the other students thus
supporting the idea of practice makes perfect. Also if, for example a
child at school appears to be good at a certain subject or sport it is
likely that more time will be spent teaching that child, making he/she
very good at that subject, giving the impression that the child is
talented when it just hard work.

However if two people put the same amount of time and effort into a
certain task one will eventually appear to be better. Perhaps alot
better giving the idea that that person is somehow talented. So
practice makes perfect in relation to creativity is not so clear cut.



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