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by keammo1 4649 days ago
"Mozart's the canonical example of somebody who didn't have to practice for years."

I'm assuming the parent was referring to information presented in the book Outliers, which provides a counter-argument to this

1 comments

You are correct. In fact, I just drove x-country and Outliers was one of the books I listened to on the way. I haven't had the time to cross-check much of the information, as I just took most of what Gladwell wrote as fact (even if this was just an opinion).
Not to beat on Gladwell (more than a bit) but I tend to double-check most of what he says.
I love Gladwell's writing (he writes some of the most entertaining non-fiction around), but it is wise to take some of his more outlandish claims with a grain or two of salt. He takes anecdotes to be almost evidence, especially in Outliers.
Ever since Igongate...