Is it true that if you do something for a total of 10,000 hours, you’re a master of it? ?
Poyzin asked:
I read that if you do anything for 10,000 hours total, you are a master of it.
I read that if you do anything for 10,000 hours total, you are a master of it.
Concert Pianist, tennis player, chess master, swimmer, computer programmer, student of any hard science, learning a language, etc.
I’m not saying you’ll be the best in the world, but you’ll be the best you can ever be, and you’ll be exceptionally good at it.
Is this true, or just another myth?
P.S. I read it in a recent book called “Outliers”
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August 27th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
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This depends on personal opinion. But think of it. This ‘IT’ you are talking about is like a variable, X, in math. You know like, 3X=6. Obviously X=2, but in this question you pose, X is not 2.
If I do X for 10,000 hours am I the master of it?
If I walk for 10,000 hours am I the master of it?
Are you a master of breathing or walking? Talking? Laughing??
August 27th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
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depends on what ur doing
August 29th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
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Look how many hours we sleep? It doesn’t take long to add up 10,000 hours.
September 1st, 2009 at 5:54 am
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Well, lets put it another way. There is no way to know you are a master of something unless you have a standard and agreed upon measure of that something. Also, motivation and ability usually have something to do with your ability to master something…not time. If you played a guitar for 10,000 but you didn’t enjoy it, put no effort into it, and basically didn’t care about it, you would likely NOT be a master of the guitar.
However, assuming you had motivation and ability, after 10,000 hours of practicing something the chances are you would be pretty darn good at it.
September 3rd, 2009 at 12:52 am
Kansieo.com
I’ve been on the earth for a moderate amount of time,
quite a bit longer than 10,000 hours and yet I’m not a master of life.
You may acquire many skills and master much in the process
but in the end, though we may master something we are
still students in the process.
September 6th, 2009 at 7:02 am
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Haha, wow, talk about taking things too literally. I can’t believe some of these answers, especially when examples were given to clarify the meaning of “doing something”.
Yeah, that sounds about right to me, provided you put in the necessary effort.
September 8th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Kansieo.com
ignore the other people. They do not know what you are really talking about.
Truth is, I play lots of sports and every time I play, I always seem to learn a bit more. I must have played at least 10000 hours so far. I am pretty sure that to do anything that requires that many hours requires exceptional dedication to what you are doing, whether you like it or not. Professional athletes always seem to get better, inversely proportionally to age:number of hours. As you age, you lose the vitality, energy, and the hormones you used to have. Therefore, practicing during your senior years would not really give you the full capability that you used to have. I’m not saying that you do not gain anything, just do not gain as much.
For many people, practicing 10000 hours is not enough. Many subjects require extensive time and dedication, such as being a neurologist, where they have to study everyday and practice for so long because a neuroligist has to control somebody’s life. I would say that no matter what, you can never practice enough.