Nature, nurture, and great design
There is an ongoing debate between "nature" versus "nurture" when it comes to talent. What is more important to design?
We may have heard an anecdotal story about someone who wasn't very "talented" but stayed up day and night practicing and eventually surpassed a more complacent and talented counterpart. This story may be true in some respects. Recent studies have shown that "experts are made, not born." Nevertheless, I believe becoming truly great requires much more then either talent or experience.
Neither natural born talent, nor technical skills hold any weight without passion. Without passion, any God-given talent would atrophy or any learning would be stifled.
I have a friend who is quite gifted in design. However, he liked to rock climb just slightly more than he liked to sand Bondo. The result was a conflict of interests on his time, and both his talent and experience were short-changed.
We all like to do things that we find pleasurable or interesting. I have found that truly great abilities lie in individuals who will do what it takes to make their design superior to the rest. Mediocre design is the product of individuals who fail to harness these passions.
If you are trying to figure out if you are as talented as someone else, don't bother. Make sure your passion is kindled for creating great design.
We may have heard an anecdotal story about someone who wasn't very "talented" but stayed up day and night practicing and eventually surpassed a more complacent and talented counterpart. This story may be true in some respects. Recent studies have shown that "experts are made, not born." Nevertheless, I believe becoming truly great requires much more then either talent or experience.
Neither natural born talent, nor technical skills hold any weight without passion. Without passion, any God-given talent would atrophy or any learning would be stifled.
I have a friend who is quite gifted in design. However, he liked to rock climb just slightly more than he liked to sand Bondo. The result was a conflict of interests on his time, and both his talent and experience were short-changed.
We all like to do things that we find pleasurable or interesting. I have found that truly great abilities lie in individuals who will do what it takes to make their design superior to the rest. Mediocre design is the product of individuals who fail to harness these passions.
If you are trying to figure out if you are as talented as someone else, don't bother. Make sure your passion is kindled for creating great design.
posted by Daniel Howell at
8/16/2006 09:02:00 AM
3 Comments:
I agree that passion is very important in order to become great or the best at anything. But I was hoping for some clarification on your version of the anecdote . . . Do you see the person who stayed up night and day practicing as having the passion? Or just the gaining experience? I wasn't sure when I read your blog . ..
The person who is willing to stay up late to get things done indeed has a certain degree of passion. Someone who would rather sleep may not have that same level of passion. This is regardless of their skill or experience. Therefor passion becomes the vehicle by which one gains experience or expands his or her talent.
If I were interviewing these two candidates for a job, where one had a "natural eye" for design and the other had lots of industry experience, the person with a greater love for designing would be the better applicant. The other really isn't in it for the design, so why force them to do something they aren't dedicated to?
If someone is passionate about something, their attention to detail and the "whole" will give them great pleasure when perfect or annoyance when less than pleasing. Passion is the motivation to obsess over something.
The implications for parents might be that they help their child find their passion, instead of just making sure that they are well-rounded. Dr.Mel Levine promotes helping our children find their strengths and build on them, not just focusing on their areas of weakness.
Great article and excellent points!
Post a Comment
<< Home