The Talent Code: Unlocking the Secret of Skill in Sports, Art, Music, Math, and Just About Anything
A New York Times bestselling author explores cutting-edge brain science to learn where talent comes from, how it grows-and how we can make ourselves smarter.How does a penniless Russian tennis club with one indoor court create more top 20 women players than the entire United States? How did a small town in rural Italy produce the dozens of painters and sculptors who ignited the Italian Renaissance? Why are so many great soccer players from Brazil? Where does talent come from, and how does it grow? New research has revealed that myelin, once considered an inert form of insulation for brain cells, may be the holy grail of acquiring skill. Journalist Daniel Coyle spent years investigating talent hotbeds, interviewing world-class practitioners (top soccer players, violinists, fighter, pilots, artists, and bank robbers) and neuroscientists. In clear, accessible language, he presents a solid strategy for skill acquisition-in athletics, fine arts, languages, science or math-that can be successfully applied through a person's entire lifespan.
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Community Reviews
-Myelin- The physical insulation that wraps are skill circuits
-Deep Learning- Actual refinement and improvement in the motion and physical action of skill
-Ignition- The initial fire that created the persons drive to pursue the talent
-Motivation- the day to day motivation that keeps someone going to keep pursuing the talent
-Master Coaching- the coaches who help make it happen and inspire
-Forming Circuits- wrapping myelin around the circuits
-Wrapping Circuits- Increased practice
-Making mistakes to learn
-Learning from failure
-Failure is learning- failure is the most useful teacher
-Hot Beds of Talent Have Real Reasons For Existing
-There is no magic to talent or amazing
-“The sweet spot: that productive, uncomfortable terrain located just beyond our current abilities, where our reach exceeds our grasp. Deep practice is not simply about struggling; it's about seeking a particular struggle, which involves a cycle of distinct actions.”
-“Although talent feels and looks predestined, in fact we have a good deal of control over what skills we develop, and we have more potential than we might ever presume to guess.”
-“Carol Dweck, the psychologist who studies motivation, likes to say that all the world's parenting advice can be distilled to two simple rules: pay attention to what your children are fascinated by, and praise them for their effort.”
-“repetition. “Don't look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That's the only way it happens—and when it happens, it lasts,” he wrote in The Wisdom of Wooden.”
-“You will become clever through your mistakes. —German proverb”
- “Skill is a cellular insulation that wraps neural circuits and that grows in response to certain signals.”
-“To sum up: it's time to rewrite the maxim that practice makes perfect. The truth is, practice makes myelin, and myelin makes perfect.”
-Deep Learning- Actual refinement and improvement in the motion and physical action of skill
-Ignition- The initial fire that created the persons drive to pursue the talent
-Motivation- the day to day motivation that keeps someone going to keep pursuing the talent
-Master Coaching- the coaches who help make it happen and inspire
-Forming Circuits- wrapping myelin around the circuits
-Wrapping Circuits- Increased practice
-Making mistakes to learn
-Learning from failure
-Failure is learning- failure is the most useful teacher
-Hot Beds of Talent Have Real Reasons For Existing
-There is no magic to talent or amazing
-“The sweet spot: that productive, uncomfortable terrain located just beyond our current abilities, where our reach exceeds our grasp. Deep practice is not simply about struggling; it's about seeking a particular struggle, which involves a cycle of distinct actions.”
-“Although talent feels and looks predestined, in fact we have a good deal of control over what skills we develop, and we have more potential than we might ever presume to guess.”
-“Carol Dweck, the psychologist who studies motivation, likes to say that all the world's parenting advice can be distilled to two simple rules: pay attention to what your children are fascinated by, and praise them for their effort.”
-“repetition. “Don't look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That's the only way it happens—and when it happens, it lasts,” he wrote in The Wisdom of Wooden.”
-“You will become clever through your mistakes. —German proverb”
- “Skill is a cellular insulation that wraps neural circuits and that grows in response to certain signals.”
-“To sum up: it's time to rewrite the maxim that practice makes perfect. The truth is, practice makes myelin, and myelin makes perfect.”
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