Perspiration Beats Inspiration

Perspiration Beats Inspiration by Michael Howe from New Scientist, December 1988

Geniuses may be made rather than born. But dilettantes will lose out-- only people with an obsessive interest in a subject have a chance to turn intelligence into genius.

1. Can anybody be a genius? After investigating the causes of exceptional abilities, I am no longer so sure that the correct answer is an unequivocal "No." What strikes us most forcibly about people of genius is how different they are from everyone else. Their brilliance is dazzling: their exceptional powers of creativity make them seem like a race apart, not only superior but inherently superior to other people. But a preoccupation with the sheer extraordinariness of outstanding individuals can be counterproductive. It forms an obstacle to understanding excellence, and hinders our efforts to explain how a few people become capable of remarkable achievement.

2. Take the case of Mozart, a genius if ever there was one. Even as a young child, according to some accounts, he was not only a brilliant performer but also an accomplished composer. The conclusion that the cause of his achievement lay in powers that were innately exceptional seems inescapable. Surely, someone like that must have been born with special gifts or talents. Yet a closer examination of Mozart's life suggests otherwise. It establishes that, as Thomas Edison put it, there is no substitute for hard work, not even for as dazzling a creative genius as Mozart. Even the abilities that underlie the greatest human achievements are acquired, not inherent. For example, Mozart produced none of his lasting compositions until the twelfth year of his musical career. During those 12 long years of hard training, music was his whole life.

3. An analysis of the early careers of 70 eminent composers showed that they all had to undergo a similarly long period of arduous musical education. No composer has created a great work of music without having dedicated at least 10 years to mastering the craft. There are no short cuts to genius, either in music or in any other field of endeavor.

4. However, the belief that individuals of genius are set firmly apart from ordinary people persists -- perhaps because it is so hard to imagine how anyone without extraordinary powers could be capable of the most remarkable of all human achievements. Most people assume that we can readily distinguish between the special feats of a genius and those more ordinary tasks that virtually anyone can aspire to after receiving the necessary training. But consider the following example. It challenges this assumption by showing that given the right circumstances, ordinary people can perform impressively.

5. Researchers in psychology discovered that a young man of average ability could remember lists of up to 80 random digits. After looking at a list once, he recalled the whole sequence correctly. This achievement is remarkable because most people can recall a list of only eight or nine items without error. Experimental psychologists also insist that people's natural ability to retain items in memory is unchangeable. So the young man was regularly remembering about ten times more information than most people. How can this extraordinary achievement be explained? There seems to be no other conclusion but that the man had an inherently exceptional capacity to remember.

6. Like people of genius, the individual that I have described could achieve things that are far beyond the capabilities of ordinary people. And, as with geniuses, his startling ability tempts us to deduce that he had innate talents or special gifts. But we would be wrong. I know that he was an ordinary, average, person, with no inherent superiority of any kind.

7. This young man who could recall lists of 80 digits was someone whom researchers had selected, more or less at random, to take part in an experiment lasting two years. He was paid to spend an hour every day memorizing lists. At first, his performance was no better than average, but gradually he developed skills and techniques that led to high levels of performance. Incredible as his skill appeared, the chances are that many other people, had they received the same lengthy training, would have done as well.

8. Even though an amazing feat was being performed, it does not justify the conclusion that the person who performed it had an inherent gift or talent. What was unusual was the person's experiences and opportunities to learn. People can acquire special abilities, but only after a lengthy period of learning.

9. There is every reason to suppose that the same is true of those people who create works of genius. There also seems to be almost no limit to what most people are capable of achieving, if their experiences of life and their opportunities for learning are wide enough.

Exercise 1: Close Reading Questions 1. Why is a preoccupation with genius unconstructive?

2. Thomas Edison is mentioned in paragraph 2 a. as support for the writer’s point b. as an example of a hard worker c. as a contrast to Mozart d. as another brilliant inventor

3. The word “yet” in paragraph 2 is used to express a reservation about the fact that ______4. What idea is illustrated by the example about Mozart at the end of paragraph 2? ______

5. What is the relationship between paragraphs 2 and 3? Paragraph 3 ______paragraph 2. a. contradicts b. exemplifies c. supports d. challenges

6. (Par. 4) Why do we continue to believe that geniuses are different from everyone else? ______

7. What idea is illustrated by the example of the young man who could remember lists of 80 random digits?

8. The end of paragraph 5 states: “There seems to be no other conclusion but that the man had an inherently exceptional capacity to remember.” Does the author agree with this conclusion? YES / NO Justify your answer by quoting from the text. ______

9. a. Who is compared in paragraph 6? ______and ______

b. What is similar about them? (List 2 things) They all ______. In addition, they make us think that ______c. Which 2 words indicate the comparison? ______10. (par. 8) “Even though an amazing feat was being performed….” Which amazing feat was being performed? ______11.Paragraph 9 states: “There is every reason to suppose that the same is true of those people who create works of genius.” What is true of those people who create works of genius? ______12.The writer concludes by stating that two factors are necessary for extraordinary achievement. What are they? a. ______b. ______

13.The word “perspiration” in the title could be replaced by: a. genius b. persistence c. intellect d. sweat

14.The writer begins by asking a question: “Can anyone be a genius?” What is his answer? YES / NO Support your answer with evidence from the text. ______15.What is the purpose of the article? a. to compare musical talents with mathematical ability b. to present the life history of Mozart as a musical genius c. to try to understand what makes some people so remarkable d. to contrast the life of Mozart with that of an ordinary person Exercise 2: Summary Cloze Fill in the blanks with one word to complete the summary of the article.

People tend to believe that geniuses are ______from everyone else. But this thought can ______people from understanding how to become ______. People believe that Mozart was a genius because he was ______that way, but in reality, he had to ______very hard to achieve what he did. Similarly, the story of a young man who could memorize long lists of numbers shows that ______people can achieve ______things through hard work. The author concludes that with the right ______, people can achieve almost anything.