Seabiscuit And The Scientific American

A couple of years or so back there was an article in The Scientific American, and wish I'd kept it, on research identifying the traits of talented people, and, importantly, where those traits originate, genes or environment. The article looks at talent in general, the concert violinist, the opera singer, the artist, Ted Williams or Babe Ruth on the baseball field, and World Masters as chess players. Maybe they should have included Seabiscuit!

The researchers conduct extensive interviews with many of the top people in their field, and always the question, how did you get to be so good. What is the process?

Careful thought would indicate that each of these talented folks were at some point less able and less talented, and that they somehow improved their skill as they proceeded, and somewhere and somehow exceed those in their field that are merely "good".

The study focus on chess players because it is easiest to quantify and explain, but, the conclusions of the study have ramifications in every field.

First, they concluded that genetic disposition hardly hurts re talent: the high IQ of the chess master, or perhaps Babe Ruth had slightly greater bone length and density in those big arms, etc.

But, they claim to have discovered one constant in almost everyone they looked at. The study concludes that each of talented persons at some point in their lives was so totally immersed in their discipline that it became second nature to them in a unique way that differs from those that are merely good. There is a process, the study indicates, of repetition accompanied by intense mental concentration that internalizes the process that finally results in extraordinary ability.

As an example of this they noted after interviewing a chess master and some lesser players, and studying their games that the Master, due to his mental repertoire honed by prior effort has immediate recollection of patterns of play, and the the solutions to problems are second nature due to the intense period of practice. The Master is thus in general able to deal more efficiently and imaginatively in the same time frame than lesser players.

Similarly, the kienesiology (motion) of talented baseball players is automatic to a greater degree than lesser players.

This occurred to me with Seabiscuits numerous early races. The Scientific American study may have been right on and explains a lot about the subsequent performance of this mediocre looking horse.