The theory runs that is sports, and indeed any other pursuit that involves the honing of skills either physical or mental, a level of complete expertise can be reached by someone who has dedicated sufficient time to perfecting that pursuit. Ideally if this practice is carried out in a person’s formative years they can put themselves at an advantage over those who haven’t put in as many hours. It’s not quite as straightforward as that of course, but that’s the gist. The need for constant challenge and to keep putting yourself out of your comfort zone is also a key to continued improvement.
Syed theorises that those that we perceive to have more talent for an activity, or appear to be “a natural”, are actually those that have dedicated the most time in the most effective way to reaching their pinnacle. Be that Roger Federer and his ability to read what his opponent will do before they have even done it, or a chess master having built up the knowledge of possible scenarios and solutions in order to win, or someone with complete fluency in another language. It all comes down to practice.
Syed cites his own past as one of England’s leading Table Tennis players to illustrate his point. Syed was one of several players in the England squad to have come from one area of one town. A freak occurrence, or simply because he and his peers had certain opportunities that people in other areas didn’t? He had a table tennis enthusiast school teacher, facilities to practice as often as possible and an equally enthusiastic sibling to practice untold hours with.
He also uses the example of another English table tennis player, Desmond Douglas, who many thought had the quickest reactions and reflexes amongst the squad. Tests actually showed he had the slowest, and yet he could still return shots that others couldn’t. Why was this? In his conversations with Douglas, Syed found that Douglas had spent many an hour in his youth playing on a table with severely restricted space around it, meaning he had to stand close to the table. As a result he developed the ability to read his opponents body and so read the shot as it was being played. His reactions weren’t exceptionally quick as many had thought, he simply had developed over hours or practice the ability to understand where the ball was going better than others had.
There is plenty of opposition to this theory, but regardless Syed makes a compelling case in the highly readable style you’d expect from a journalist at such a prestigious newspaper. The nagging doubt as I read was the obvious question that no matter how much practice someone put in, they wouldn’t be able to run the 100m in under 10 seconds if their body simply wasn’t the predisposed to speed. Sprinting is a skill after all, but Syed offers that it is a more straightforward activity than the more complex motor or mental skills that the 10,000 hours of practice is really referring to. Think Tiger Woods and the refined motor skills required rather than Usain Bolt and the sheer speed he has; albeit enhanced by his own hours of practice.
Syed does go into the theories of sprinting success for people of West African descent, and distance running success for people from East Africa and highlights the flaw in those arguments too. These sections later in the book were extremely interesting but had veered slightly off topic from the rest of the book in my opinion, as did the sections on East German sports doping though equally fascinating.
I found many of the ideas expressed hugely thought provoking and profoundly interesting, and whether you are convinced or not there is no denying what a fascinating read this is for anyone with an interest in sport and performance, or in excelling in any field. Packed with specific examples and a level of research and detail that adds weight to his arguments, Syed has produced a very impressive piece of work and a very worthwhile read.
- Aidan Williams - http://thesportsbookreview.com
Publisher - Fourth Estate
Date of Publication - 28 April 2011