Talent - Nature or Nurture?

Watching a child prodigy that hit high aria notes flawlessly or a young piano virtuoso that impeccably plays a Chopin piece seems to awe many people. For a long time, the public holds the view that such talents are acquired at birth; they frowned upon the idea that it is a result of intensive, repetitive practice rather than genetics.

The traditional view is not without scientific back-up. Scholars and scientists around the world has studied savants - the most outstanding among the gifted - and found that they tend to have a slightly better brain. These 'slight difference', however, usually comes with a cost: statistics shown that a big percentage of these geniuses suffer from autism. However, it seems hard to justify this view because a large proportion of those we perceived as 'gifted' does not appear to be of such category; most of them are normal.

This leads us to an opposing view that has been raised recently, which interestingly claims that one's talent is not primarily acquired by genes; it is rather gained by a series of continuous self improvement and practice. Yes, there are those who progress at a much faster speed than the others because of their acquired-genes; however it only amounts to a tiny fraction to their talent. A large part of the so-called talent, as the findings show, is commonly gained by practice, practice, and practice.

While the notion that talent is not acquired at birth may sounds unbelievable for some, modern studies have confirmed that hard work and intensive practice indeed plays an important role in forming the talent within a person. It is also discovered that a majority of those who are regarded as gifted individuals usually spend significantly more time to practice, compared to the others.

For these reasons I firmly believe that instead of being acquired at birth, talent is a result of considerable amount of hard work and practice, thus anyone who is willing to do so in a consistent manner will surely be able to claim the title "Gifted".

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