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posted by cmn32480 on Monday August 14 2017, @10:12AM   Printer-friendly
from the he'll-never-make-it-to-Carnegie-Hall dept.

The Atlantic has an article on Dan McLaughlin, the "average guy" who spent six thousand hours working on becoming a professional golfer

Seven-plus years ago, aged 30 and unsure even of which hand to grip a golf club in, McLaughlin quit his job as a commercial photographer, took in lodgers to cover the mortgage, husbanded his savings for green fees, and set out to make the PGA Tour, home to the world's elite golfers.

He created a catchily named blog to document his quest, and in short order the Dan Plan commanded magazines spreads and TV spots. Along the way, it drew an avid community of followers riveted by the spectacle of a regular Joe living out an everyman fantasy. No less captivated: a salon of leading figures from the science of learning and human performance.

What could you achieve if you committed to something completely, all-in, no excuses? How far could you go? For five years, McLaughlin cast everything else aside—career, money, even relationships—to put this to the test. But then his back gave out. He pushed himself to the limit and still came up short.

The article follows Dan's attempt to follow the idea, popularised in Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers, that 10,000 hours of practice is the main factor in developing any skill to world class expertise.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 14 2017, @06:59PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 14 2017, @06:59PM (#553801)
    If you're not physically suited for the sport then 10,000 hours of it is more likely to damage you.

    There are some people who can play rugby and many others who can't. The former tend to be tougher and recover faster from injuries. If you're in the latter group and still tried to do the 10,000 hours thing you'd probably end up a cripple or worse.

    It's like those people who run marathons etc. Some can do it, others can't. You're less suited for long distance running if you're heavier than a certain level (doesn't have to be fat, could be bodybuilder type) all that weight will increase the impact and damage on your joints. You probably have to be a minority of a minority to be a long-term super muscular marathon runner and have little problems.
  • (Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Monday August 14 2017, @09:17PM (1 child)

    by LoRdTAW (3755) on Monday August 14 2017, @09:17PM (#553844) Journal

    That's part of proper training. Going about something yourself without any real knowledge can easily lead you down a screwy path of trial and error. And the error can get you into trouble.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 15 2017, @06:16AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 15 2017, @06:16AM (#554119)

      I'd like to see what's proper training for getting a midget to slamdunk. Think 10000 hours of that will work?

      If you don't have the natural talent/aptitude you're not going to be world class. There's just so much adaptation a body can do. http://www.boredpanda.com/athlete-body-types-comparison-howard-schatz/ [boredpanda.com]

      Polishing granite for 10000 hours isn't going to turn it into a diamond. But you can make a really nice table top.

      Nowadays with our technology there may be more advanced and efficient methods of figuring out aptitude without as much $$$$ investment. For example for motorsport, some video games are realistic enough to figure out whether a kid might have the potential to be a fast F1 driver. The kid can say "Dad, I want to be a race car driver", and Dad can go, ok beat this lap time and we'll talk. Then if the kid beats the lap time significantly, dad goes "oh shit, my kid might be one of those diamonds, dammit, this is gonna be expensive". :).