Interesting article! I often think about the 10,000 hour rule and actually deep dived into the topic recently.
K. Anders Ericsson is a Swedish psychology professor at FSU. He’s written extensively about elite athletic performance and is often credited with the 10,000 hour rule of mastery.
In a recent (2013) research paper, he made an interesting observation which might explain why you’re not playing soccer for Real Madrid.
The number of hours to become an expert depends on the level of competition in the field you’re competing in.
He studied a cohort of violists and found that an average 25,000 hours of practice needed to be logged before they became recognized world wide.
By contrast, he paid some of his undergrad students to train and compete in a digit memorization competition. It only took them 500 hours of practice to become world-class.
To achieve mastery you could either put in more hours of practice. Or pick an easier thing to become a master in.
Ericsson’s research implies that the level of competitiveness determines the # of hours to become an expert in any area. Could be worth reading “Peak” by K. Anders Ericsson if you’re exploring this area.
Appreciate it Josh! It’s always been a good gut check for me any time I don’t want to adapt to something or put off learning something I know I should be digging into.
Interesting article! I often think about the 10,000 hour rule and actually deep dived into the topic recently.
K. Anders Ericsson is a Swedish psychology professor at FSU. He’s written extensively about elite athletic performance and is often credited with the 10,000 hour rule of mastery.
In a recent (2013) research paper, he made an interesting observation which might explain why you’re not playing soccer for Real Madrid.
The number of hours to become an expert depends on the level of competition in the field you’re competing in.
He studied a cohort of violists and found that an average 25,000 hours of practice needed to be logged before they became recognized world wide.
By contrast, he paid some of his undergrad students to train and compete in a digit memorization competition. It only took them 500 hours of practice to become world-class.
To achieve mastery you could either put in more hours of practice. Or pick an easier thing to become a master in.
Some food for thought. 🍕 🍔
Love that insight + how that variable applies. It's so true how it needs to be evaluated relative to the space (size, saturation, etc.)
Ericsson’s research implies that the level of competitiveness determines the # of hours to become an expert in any area. Could be worth reading “Peak” by K. Anders Ericsson if you’re exploring this area.
Really good, Sam.
Love this quote : “The difference between a student and a master is that a master never stops being a student.”
And the soccer analogy!
Appreciate it Josh! It’s always been a good gut check for me any time I don’t want to adapt to something or put off learning something I know I should be digging into.