Nov 25 2008
10000 Hours will get you almost anywhere
I have always suspected it. Now they have proof. What I am talking about is Edison’s suggestion that genius is 99 percent perspiration and one percent inspiration. Daily Express, a United Kingdom based newspaper quoted a research by the Berlin Music Academy on the relationship between hours of practice and achievement of performance excellence in violin. They studied a group of five year old violin students and followed them for years. Their achievement and number of hours of practice were recorded. The best performers practiced for over 10,000 hours. The violinists achieving good but not excellent rating practiced for an average of 8,000 hours. It might sound silly to you and me that this all appears too obvious. Nonetheless, it’s still nice to have scientific proof that genius is often a function of time and effort. To me, it also explains why fellow surgeons with over twenty years of experience are in much bigger demand than our more junior counter-parts. The public simply believe practice leads to better performance, even if it doesn’t make perfection. It also spells out to me the importance of engaging yourself into some profession or trade that you really enjoy. Doing something you don’t enjoy for 10000 hours is simply unthinkable. You might as well choose to be a failure or a mediocre performer.
