The Official 'Nature vs. Nurture' Thread

[quote]wushu_1984 wrote:

I suppose nature might come into it if someone was better able to train more often than someone else. Like again in resistance training when some guys have better recovery capabilities than others. So that nature will let them reach the 10,000 hour mark faster than others.[/quote]

Hmm…I hadn’t even though of that. Good point. Seems like nature and nurture feed each other in a manner far more complicated than my little equation. Oh well…

And then of course, there’s the question of will power & determination (I think Streamline already mentioned this). If you’re more determined, you’re more likely to reach the 10,000 hour mark sooner. But is willpower genetic, learned, or some combination of the two?

Malcolm Gladwell (in his latest book) would have us believe that it’s a learned response, but I’m not completely convinced by his argument. Steve Pinker has made a much better case that many, many habits (though he’s never mentioned “determination” specifically) are bred rather than taught.