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Bounce : The Myth of Talent and the Power of Practice

Knowledge-free computing, however sophisticated, is impotent. The most important ingredient in an expert system is knowledge. Programs that are rich in general inference methods – some of which may even have some of the power of mathematical logic – but poor in domain-specific knowledge can behave expertly on almost no tasks. Expert firefighters are able to confront a burning building and almost instantly place it within the context of a rich, detailed, and elaborate conceptual scheme derived from years of experience. They can chunk the visual properties of the scene and comprehend its complex dynamics, often without understanding how. This is extrasensory perception, a sixth sense. Imagine a child pianist practicing to play her favorite songs by ear. She may spend many afternoons practicing at the piano, but it’s likely that as soon as she gets close to the original, she’ll work less and less hard to improve further as her performance is already good enough. World-class performers emerge from mindset. Perhaps the key of any institution is to encourage the adoption of a growth mindset.Essential reading for an astounding summer of sport; If you’ve ever wondered what makes a champion, Bounce has the answer. The need to belong, to associate, is among the most important human motives. We are almost certainly hardwired with a fundamental motivation to maintain these associations. Child prodigies amaze us because we compare them not with other performers who have practiced for the same length of time, but with children of the same age who have not dedicated their lives in the same way.

Matthew Syed Collection 3 Books Set (Rebel Ideas, Black Box

The difference between world-class performers and mediocre performers are that they take these mental manipulations to greater extremes. They have taught themselves to ratchet up their optimism at the point of performance; to mould the evidence to fit their beliefs rather than the other way around; to activate doublethink. Cutting-edge analysis and devastatingly argued.' Mark Thomas, Professor of Evolutionary Genetics at University College London Imagine a top-notch marathon runner, who always finishes her races in the top ten. If you had to explain her success, would you say it was due to her being a natural runner? Or is it because she has practiced unwaveringly for years? Mozart is considered by many to have been the greatest composer who ever lived. Traditionally, most people would assume outstanding achievements like his are due to natural abilities, or even divine inspiration or fate. This assumption holds especially true for child prodigies like Mozart who already had the world mesmerized with his musical talent at the age of six. When people find a similarity – even a trivial one – to a successful person, it increases their confidence in their own chances of success and motivates them to try harder. In this case, South Korean golfers were inspired by their compatriot’s success. This phenomenon is called motivation by association.It is only an expert performer – someone who has practiced long enough to automate skill – who has the capacity to choke. For a novice – still wielding the explicit system – any additional attention is likely to benefit execution, not hinder it. Purposeful practice: the practice sessions of aspiring champions have a specific and never-changing purpose: progress. Every second of every minute of every hour, the goal is to extend one´s mind and body, to push oneself beyond the outer limits of ones capacities, to engage so deeply in the task that one leaves the training session, literally, a changed person. Two-time Olympian and sports writer and broadcaster Matthew Syed draws on the latest in neuroscience and psychology to uncover the secrets of our top athletes and introduces us to an extraordinary cast of characters, including the East German athlete who became a man, and her husband – and the three Hungarian sisters who are all chess grandmasters. Bounce is crammed with fascinating stories and statistics. Here, and again in junior football generally from my experience, it is very clear that age has a major part to play - something that Syad only briefly covers, and which would I think bear more examination. Players born in the first half of the UK academic year tending to be the ones who progress, with the younger ones being relegated to reserve teams. Swimming appears to get past this by having age cut offs for each gala through a season, so very child has a point where they are in the oldest cohort, and gain an advantage. In my view this is key to maintaining their motivation. The answer lies in the two changes that intensive practice brings about in the way your brain handles a specific task.

Bounce Summary of Key Ideas and Review | Matthew Syed - Blinkist Bounce Summary of Key Ideas and Review | Matthew Syed - Blinkist

Onlookers took the performance to be the consequence of special abilities because they had witnessed only a tiny percentage of the activity that had gone into its making. The ten years rule of creativity: What seems lie pure, untainted mystical creativity is, in fact, the consequence of lifetime devotion.The book is easy to read. It explains in laymen terms the psychology and effort behind success. Great insight. Matthew Syed talks about his experience and refers to some other high profile players. The book also discusses how successful people explain losing. The reference is mainly to sports people, but it does look at Mozart and child prodigies. But think if an expert were to find himself using the wrong brain system. No matter how great he is, he would strive because he is using his explicit rather than internal system. The highly sophisticated skills encoded in the implicit part of his brain would count for nothing. You are so brilliant; you got an A without really studying I´d better quit studying or they won’t think I’m brilliant! We should praise effort, not talent we should emphasize how abilities can be transformed through application; we should teach others and ourselves to see challenges as learning opportunities rather than threats; we should interpret failure not as an indictment but as an opportunity.