The 10,000 hour rule
This can be referred to a theory that was explained in the book- Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. In this particular book, Malcolm Gladwell examines the factors that contribute to high levels of success. Throughout the novel, the author repeatedly mentions the 10,000 hour rule- claiming that the key to success is any field is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total time of 10,000 hours. This rule was originally characterised by K. Anders Ericsson, a professor of psychology at Florida State University. However, this particular theory may go some way in reinforcing the idea that ‘practise makes perfect’. But after the publication of Outliers, the popularized rule has led to researchers engaging in debates over what exactly the rule evokes. Many have persisted that solely practice itself is not sufficient to excel in that particular area but only dedicated and intensive building and repeating of skill that counts.
Zach Hambrick, an associate professor of psychology at Michigan State University along with his colleagues decided to study musicians and chess players to delve further into how practice leads to master. They reanalysed specific data from a total of 14 studies of top chess players and musicians. The results of their research quite contradicted the basis of the 10 000 hour rule: For musicians, they uncovered that only a minimal 30% of the variance in their rankings as performers could be accounted for by how much time they spent practicing, and for chess players, practice only accounted for 34% of what determined the rank of a player. Therefore, two-thirds of the difference was completely unrelated to practice. A piece of supporting evidence was the fact that while one particular player took only two years to become grandmaster and another attained this level only after 26 years, providing a very large variance in the hours of practice they possibly did.
Moreover, Hambrick’s earlier research is evidence which suggests that general ability factors (naturally born with ability) are at least part of separating the best people in any particular field to the other people around them. This was shown through his finding that working memory, the storage capacity of information in each individual’s mind, accounts for 7% of the variation in sight-reading when playing piano.
Therefore, it can be debated as to whether or not Einstein's strength in the mind was partly contributed through his vigorous violin playing, thus gaining a better rounded physical and physiologically rounded brain overall, or perhaps on the other hand, the characteristics of his intelligence were not reliant upon anything at all.
Zach Hambrick, an associate professor of psychology at Michigan State University along with his colleagues decided to study musicians and chess players to delve further into how practice leads to master. They reanalysed specific data from a total of 14 studies of top chess players and musicians. The results of their research quite contradicted the basis of the 10 000 hour rule: For musicians, they uncovered that only a minimal 30% of the variance in their rankings as performers could be accounted for by how much time they spent practicing, and for chess players, practice only accounted for 34% of what determined the rank of a player. Therefore, two-thirds of the difference was completely unrelated to practice. A piece of supporting evidence was the fact that while one particular player took only two years to become grandmaster and another attained this level only after 26 years, providing a very large variance in the hours of practice they possibly did.
Moreover, Hambrick’s earlier research is evidence which suggests that general ability factors (naturally born with ability) are at least part of separating the best people in any particular field to the other people around them. This was shown through his finding that working memory, the storage capacity of information in each individual’s mind, accounts for 7% of the variation in sight-reading when playing piano.
Therefore, it can be debated as to whether or not Einstein's strength in the mind was partly contributed through his vigorous violin playing, thus gaining a better rounded physical and physiologically rounded brain overall, or perhaps on the other hand, the characteristics of his intelligence were not reliant upon anything at all.