I do think the 10,000 rule is both appealing and useful as a signpost, in that it take dedication to hone your craft whatever it may be. Though realistically experts have a combination of talent, education and commitment that's hard to simulate. We might have one of these three, but rarely two or even three. That's okay though, it's still noble to live a life of passion, art and the pursuit of a craft.
It's fulfilling to have an identity immersive like a writer, poet, artist or even a journalist, essayist or videographer might have. At that end of the day that for me is the best part. The process of immersion.
Nicely put. Getting to the point of being comfortable with identifying as a writer (or artist, or journalist, or filmmaker etc) is a major milestone. So many writers are uncomfortable with self-describing themselves as such.
I'd rephrase the comment. I think you can become good in considerably less than 10,000 hours. To become great or world class (i.e. a master) does take considerably longer, plus lots of coaching and feedback of you trying to push yourself and your skills. Anders Ericsson, who did the original research based on young violinists, has suggested that Gladwell actually exaggerated the 10,000 hours rule by projecting it forward based on data, whereas it might be more like 8000 hours if memory serves me correctly. But it still is a useful rough order of magnitude estimate.
I've always been suspicious of the 10,000 hour number. How long would it take a pilot to accumulate 10,000 flight hours? (They qualify as an airline pilot with 1500 hours.) And what about boxers. They would never reach 10,000 hours of boxing time. It would kill them.
And what counts as hours for this purpose? Does time in the gym count for the boxer? Does running (required for conditioning, but not in itself a fight skill)? Does reading time count for a writer? Does living your life with your eyes open (a necessary skill for a writer) count?
Does writing this comment count towards my time? :-)
I once took a watercolor class in which the instructor told us that if we were asked how long it took us to paint a watercolor (they have to be executed quickly) we should reply with the number of years we have been alive. All experience contributes to art.
I offer the suggestion that, if anything, writing, painting, and art of any kind, requires 10,000 hours of paying attention.
I do think the 10,000 rule is both appealing and useful as a signpost, in that it take dedication to hone your craft whatever it may be. Though realistically experts have a combination of talent, education and commitment that's hard to simulate. We might have one of these three, but rarely two or even three. That's okay though, it's still noble to live a life of passion, art and the pursuit of a craft.
It's fulfilling to have an identity immersive like a writer, poet, artist or even a journalist, essayist or videographer might have. At that end of the day that for me is the best part. The process of immersion.
Nicely put. Getting to the point of being comfortable with identifying as a writer (or artist, or journalist, or filmmaker etc) is a major milestone. So many writers are uncomfortable with self-describing themselves as such.
Fortunately for you actual studies debunk Gladwell time and time again!
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/8/23/20828597/the-10000-hour-rule-debunked
To TL/DR it, yes, practice does have impact, but inherent ability matters more.
I should have just gone with your last sentence instead of writing a whole article.
Although, then I wouldn't have racked up as much time, would I? :)
Well, now we see YOUR opinion on "Quality vs Quantity!" 😉
If you continually bludgeon a reader with an onslaught of words they won't have time to think about whether they're the *right* words.
I think that's how this thing works, anyway.
As you well know, I am often verbose, loquacious and talk a lot. Preaching to the choir, I suppose!
I'd rephrase the comment. I think you can become good in considerably less than 10,000 hours. To become great or world class (i.e. a master) does take considerably longer, plus lots of coaching and feedback of you trying to push yourself and your skills. Anders Ericsson, who did the original research based on young violinists, has suggested that Gladwell actually exaggerated the 10,000 hours rule by projecting it forward based on data, whereas it might be more like 8000 hours if memory serves me correctly. But it still is a useful rough order of magnitude estimate.
True - I might have conflated 'good' and 'expert' in a few places here.
I bet it didn't take Gladwell 10,000 hours of journalism to figure out that a five-digit number makes a better headline than a four-digit number. :-)
Heh
I've always been suspicious of the 10,000 hour number. How long would it take a pilot to accumulate 10,000 flight hours? (They qualify as an airline pilot with 1500 hours.) And what about boxers. They would never reach 10,000 hours of boxing time. It would kill them.
And what counts as hours for this purpose? Does time in the gym count for the boxer? Does running (required for conditioning, but not in itself a fight skill)? Does reading time count for a writer? Does living your life with your eyes open (a necessary skill for a writer) count?
Does writing this comment count towards my time? :-)
I once took a watercolor class in which the instructor told us that if we were asked how long it took us to paint a watercolor (they have to be executed quickly) we should reply with the number of years we have been alive. All experience contributes to art.
I offer the suggestion that, if anything, writing, painting, and art of any kind, requires 10,000 hours of paying attention.
Everything counts
Ah, I love that notion from your art instructor, Mark.