This is an awesome post, Janek. I graduated from Stanford back in 1986, and Malcolm is a Stanford alum…my roommate knows him personally. I’m thankful for your perspective, which to me is reflective of truth, because it has been experiential. The level of your musicianship validates your perspective. Thanks, man!!! There’s hope for this hobbyist!
I watched the video with great interest; and I already wrote my appreciation of it; showing the mindset of a top player so elegenatly; and now reading the newsletter makes the entire picture complete: consistency and intent.
thank you so much for all these insights; and for you transparency and honesty
10,000 hours? First, consider aptitude. Everyone has seen a video of some autistic individual who plays bach with a single hearing. And there's Joey Alexander and other prodigies who likely also have more connectedness/less pruning of neural network modules involving the motor cortex, Herchel's gyrus, etc... Second, there is the quality of practice in terms of level of consciousness, passion, curiosity, inventiveness, intention/objective and sources of motivation. Third, access to great role models or exemplars can provide the kinds of insights that facilitate the approach to learning. One could easily waste 10k hours without appreciating the subtleties of what is critical or not. Not everyone can be an expert regardless of how many hours they invest, but then what is expertise. Comparative to anyone who has not played for 10K hours, they would likely be an expert. In the end, it's really about personal growth through engagement as what is important. We try, but where we end up is never certain at the beginning of the journey. Only that we are better for having tried.
I am a person who fights against a "10,000 hours practicing." I don't mean that we should not practice. We still must practice with consistency. However, the rule is just a "concept." If someone follows such a concept without critical thinking, one may go to a wrong way.
I fully agree with your writing. Then, if you have time, I recommend you read 1) The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance, and 2) Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. Both books were written by David Epstein, who completely fights against the 10,000 hours rule.
This is an awesome post, Janek. I graduated from Stanford back in 1986, and Malcolm is a Stanford alum…my roommate knows him personally. I’m thankful for your perspective, which to me is reflective of truth, because it has been experiential. The level of your musicianship validates your perspective. Thanks, man!!! There’s hope for this hobbyist!
Dear Janek,
I watched the video with great interest; and I already wrote my appreciation of it; showing the mindset of a top player so elegenatly; and now reading the newsletter makes the entire picture complete: consistency and intent.
thank you so much for all these insights; and for you transparency and honesty
many greetings
Ruya Gokhan Kocer
10,000 hours? First, consider aptitude. Everyone has seen a video of some autistic individual who plays bach with a single hearing. And there's Joey Alexander and other prodigies who likely also have more connectedness/less pruning of neural network modules involving the motor cortex, Herchel's gyrus, etc... Second, there is the quality of practice in terms of level of consciousness, passion, curiosity, inventiveness, intention/objective and sources of motivation. Third, access to great role models or exemplars can provide the kinds of insights that facilitate the approach to learning. One could easily waste 10k hours without appreciating the subtleties of what is critical or not. Not everyone can be an expert regardless of how many hours they invest, but then what is expertise. Comparative to anyone who has not played for 10K hours, they would likely be an expert. In the end, it's really about personal growth through engagement as what is important. We try, but where we end up is never certain at the beginning of the journey. Only that we are better for having tried.
https://www.ucf.edu/pegasus/your-brain-on-music/
I am a person who fights against a "10,000 hours practicing." I don't mean that we should not practice. We still must practice with consistency. However, the rule is just a "concept." If someone follows such a concept without critical thinking, one may go to a wrong way.
I fully agree with your writing. Then, if you have time, I recommend you read 1) The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance, and 2) Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. Both books were written by David Epstein, who completely fights against the 10,000 hours rule.