[Talk] Is talent inherited or learned?

bringing back THIS old discussion

Do you think talent (be it artistic, musically, written, etc) something you are born with? Or do you believe it's something you learn? Is it fair to say that there's an emphasis on nature or nurture in this instance? Discuss!

yeah, I think talent is learned. Perhaps being in a family that does a lot of music might make you learn an instrument or something, so in that way it can be inherited, kinda.

The way I see it, talent is an intrinsic thing. To have talent means you were born with a natural gift/inclination towards a particular thing. To be skilled however means you have refined and improved your ability through practice and/or hard work.

Essentially, anyone can be skilled but not everyone is talented. However that doesn't automatically equal a difference in the ability of a skilled and a talented person.

Talent is something you're born with, but it's not necessarily inherited via genetics like the thread title implies. Obviously you need to develop your talent(s)--you're not going to be a master from the moment you start--but the talented person is both going to progress much faster and have a much higher skill ceiling than the non-talented person. Other terms for talent would be "aptitude" or being "cut out for it".

I can't agree with talent being something you are born with, but I can't justify why. I can say that people aren't born with special abilities nor are they born with more than others. To me, it's just the way people develop, from being toddlers, that's when we start shaping our personality as well as our imagination and the way we see the world. It doesn't mean that everything is developed after birth, though. Some capabilities can be inherited or developed before birth.
Talent is a weird concept, so there is not really an answer to that. I believe people can grow talent if their heart is there.

there are ppl who have taken a head injury and become almost masters at instruments and other talents after recovering. so both is possible.

I've had bad hearing since I was young and although I've never had it diagnosed I'm pretty sure I'm tone deaf. I had the hardest time trying to learn musical instruments and while I'm not saying I super tried hard every time I didn't get very far when I did and I had to give up eventually. I have no talent for music.

I don't mean to knock people who work hard, but I do think that the way someone's brain is wired (which can sometimes be because of working hard) has a large effect on someone's ability and so, to me, talent is one part genetics, one part upbringing, and one part hard work, all in about equal portions.

Hmm . . . I think to a degree we all as individuals are born with varying aptitudes of ability for any given task. But I definitely think hard work / effort will win the day over natural talent. I started playing the piano when I was 22 years old. I am 26 now, so that's around 4 years of playing. My mother plays so perhaps I have inherited some ability from her - I was also born ambidextrous which may help in my playing. Since I started playing at such a late age, I've had to work really hard to improve my skill as it's much easier to nurture your skills at a younger age.

In contrast, I started karate when I was 7 so that's almost two decades of training I've had to date. To be honest I don't think I was particularly adept at the martial arts at a young age - or even sports in general. I'm going on a bit of a tangent here but I was usually picked near last in sports activities when I was a kid.

I think I am pretty much in agreement with what Nah has said. You take two different people and put them through the same training, you will probably find one will be better than the other. In other words, all external factors being equal, two individuals will have different aptitudes for different things in varying degrees.

Fortunately, I believe effort trumps talent (go Rock Lee!) and that is something I have in spades.

I suppose you can inherit traits that aid you (Like double jointed people, or being ambidextrous) But you can't inherit the ability yourself.

I'm on the side of talent being learned rather than something you're born with. Sure, you may be born with an aptitude for learning something in particular, and maybe the skill to learn something better than something else, but putting into practice what you want to improve on is the best way to get good at it.

Case in point: before the 7th grade, I did not listen to music at all. My sister actually introduced me to music, though I did play the piano back then. However, I did not write music that well either. Fast forward 8 years, and we have this guy, writing video game remixes on http://ocremix.org/!

So, you can go from someone who was pretty basic at something, to someone who's good at it, through practice. :)

Wait, let me see... So if someone is tone deaf, they have no music talent? and NOT being tone deaf, doesn't make you talented in music?
Beethoven was going deaf all together when he wrote is music...
I still don't believe you are born with talent...

A little late to the party, huh.
That's fine, I'll have the leftovers.

Well, Yes, I do think some people are born with "advantages" when it comes to certain talents, like, for example, a 200 cm man has an advantage over a 170cm man when it comes to basketball, but that does not change thar there have been really good basketball players who are 170cm tall. This applies to pretty much every other talent. So...yeah, if you really want to become really good at something, no matter if you have a disadvantage, with enough determination, you can always do it. (Thats the cheesiest line I have ever written, ever.)

Yeah, thats my take on it...obviously, you dont want to go to an extreme or you will end like in the movie "whiplash"...

I think talent is something you're born with. as a pianist i see loads of pianists that are just more talented than me. if talent is something that's learned then everyone would have the same potential. however to reach that potential a talented person has to put the work in. Anyone can be hard working but without the talent u won't get too far. like i'm sure there's some ppl who really want to play an instrument but they just don't have that musicality. they can practise all they want and be a technical wizard on their instrument but it just won't be the same as someone who has the technique thro practise and the talent. if someone has talent and they're not nurtured properly then someone who has less talent but works hard will probably be better. some ppl just have that natural creativeness and stuff whereas others dont. there are loads of hard working people but not all of them are at the top of their profession

It's like on football manager. u sign a 5star wonderkid but u have to train him up and give him games for him to reach his true potential. if you don't train him right then he might just turn into an average player which is a waste :(

I know for me, when i started sports, i was HORRIBLE now, i can (and have) taken down the best basketball player in my ENTIRE SCHOOL. It came from years of practice and, he underestimated me. Singing came naturally though, it was my second nature

TogeKisser said:

I know for me, when i started sports, i was HORRIBLE now, i can (and have) taken down the best basketball player in my ENTIRE SCHOOL. It came from years of practice and, he underestimated me. Singing came naturally though, it was my second nature

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everyones horrible when they start something. sometimes ppl don't realize the potential they have. sometimes it takes time for it to come to the surface.

Everyone has their floor and ceiling at things. I do believe that everyone can work hard enough and learn how to become competent at anything, but when it comes to the truly elite it usually inherited talent with some learning to refine said talent. So it's not as simple as one or the other.

Pukeamon said:

everyones horrible when they start something. sometimes ppl don't realize the potential they have. sometimes it takes time for it to come to the surface.

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Nah, man. I think that everyone can achieve greatness in stuff if they really wanted to. Sure, for some people it will take more time and practice than others, and some people have inherited advantages over others . It all comes from the type of mentality you have when learning new things.

It's a bit of both. Talent sets your ceiling, but hard work sets your floor.

I don't believe in talent. I believe in skill, which is learned through hard work and practice. It's true that a person who is like 6'5" may be better suited for basketball compared to someone who is 4'11", while that 4'11" person is way better-suited to becoming a jockey. But even then, though, hard work and practice matters most in the end no matter what.