Matthew Syed was a sensational table tennis player (if you don't believe me watch this). Still is by any of our standards no doubt. He was British number one, and took gold three times in the men's singles at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships. (He was also a defender, an amazing but sadly now dying art more alive in the tennis of Andy Murray than in 21st century table tennis.)
Now Matthew Syed is a sports journalist for The Times, and has recently written a book called Bounce: How Champions Are Made, which explores what leads people to being the absolute best in their chosen field. And he's our guest on Thursday.
John in Lake Oswego on the blog - the idea of exceptional innate ability is largely a myth.
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18:08
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Listening to @大象传媒_WHYS. Find Matt Syed fascinating, and hoping to get a story for @DailyToreador about Susan Polgar's appearance.
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18:08
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Abdelilah Boukili in Morocco - Many fail at school, not because they are stupid but because what they learn doesn't fit their mental orientation. Currently there are many successful businessman who didn't finish their studies like the tycoon Richard Branson. He has dyslexia and had poor academic performance as a student, but later discovered his ability to connect with others.
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18:08
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I absolutely disagree: everyone is born with some kind of innate talent, be it music, athletics, plumbing, robbing a bank, or whatever. Practice and work are necessary to fulfill one鈥檚 destiny, but everyone has one. Banks, amsterdam
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18:02
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D Curtello emailed - Of course natural talent exists! Why do people think that one person does something so easily without much, if any training at all, while another has to train really hard to even be on par? Training, determination and dedication do, however, hone talents. I am Jamaican, so, naturally, I will cite my fellow countryman and (still #1) sprinter, Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay as classic examples.
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18:00
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Purushottam Shrestha - No doubt, talent does exist in every one of us. Some, I personally regard them as lucky, have this as congenital, and the rest has or procures this following constant practice and hard work.
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17:56
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We''re live on air now. Listen here:
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17:51
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Tom on the blog - I think he is in large part correct but genetics do matter in that some people are born with more fast twitch than slow twitch muscles and so are inherently better at either fast movement sports like sprinting or long distance endurance sports like marathons.
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17:51
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Luis in Baghdad - It's rare for us to be really good at something we don't enjoy. And it's equally rare for us to enjoy something we're not good at. That's the crux of the chicken-and-egg problem that defining "talent" poses for us.
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17:50
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Dominic on Facebook - Having a talent is both biological and social. The former is inherited and the later learnt.
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17:50
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Lovemore in Lusaka, Zambia on Facebook - Talent enables one to perform far much better than other equally trained individuals or to achieve equal results with less effort and/or difficulty.
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17:49
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Musa Issa on Facebook - I think talent is innate, but has to be honed. Some people possess genetic attributes that give them an edge over others, for example vocal talent, artistic ability.
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17:48
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Laura in Kentucky on Facebook - Anyone can be taught a talent, any talent. It may take time and lots of effort but it is possible and they can be good at it. However, they may not ever become as talented at something as someone else who has a natural ability to do the same talent.
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17:48
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Elias on the blog - There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that everyone has a potential of being very good or brilliant in some field or the other - however the opportunity to excel in any one field must be by chance that a person must either by accident or just happen to be in it, and hopefully have expert guidance to improve himself.
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17:42
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Hello - Ben S here. Today we''re asking whether there is such a thing as natural talent. Our guest Matthew Syed - former UK table tennis champion - says not. What do you think?
Does natural talent exist?
| Thursday, 8 Aug. 2010 | 18:00 - 19:00 GMT
Matthew Syed was a sensational table tennis player (if you don't believe me watch this). Still is by any of our standards no doubt. He was British number one, and took gold three times in the men's singles at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships. (He was also a defender, an amazing but sadly now dying art more alive in the tennis of Andy Murray than in 21st century table tennis.)
Now Matthew Syed is a sports journalist for The Times, and has recently written a book called Bounce: How Champions Are Made, which explores what leads people to being the absolute best in their chosen field. And he's our guest on Thursday.
Your comments
Comment sent via BLOG
John in Lake Oswego on the blog - the idea of exceptional innate ability is largely a myth.
Comment sent via Twitter
Listening to @大象传媒_WHYS. Find Matt Syed fascinating, and hoping to get a story for @DailyToreador about Susan Polgar's appearance.
Comment sent via BLOG
Abdelilah Boukili in Morocco - Many fail at school, not because they are stupid but because what they learn doesn't fit their mental orientation. Currently there are many successful businessman who didn't finish their studies like the tycoon Richard Branson. He has dyslexia and had poor academic performance as a student, but later discovered his ability to connect with others.
Comment sent via SMS
I absolutely disagree: everyone is born with some kind of innate talent, be it music, athletics, plumbing, robbing a bank, or whatever. Practice and work are necessary to fulfill one鈥檚 destiny, but everyone has one. Banks, amsterdam
Comment sent via YOURSAY
D Curtello emailed - Of course natural talent exists! Why do people think that one person does something so easily without much, if any training at all, while another has to train really hard to even be on par? Training, determination and dedication do, however, hone talents. I am Jamaican, so, naturally, I will cite my fellow countryman and (still #1) sprinter, Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay as classic examples.
Comment sent via Facebook
Purushottam Shrestha - No doubt, talent does exist in every one of us. Some, I personally regard them as lucky, have this as congenital, and the rest has or procures this following constant practice and hard work.
Comment sent via host
We''re live on air now. Listen here:
Comment sent via BLOG
Tom on the blog - I think he is in large part correct but genetics do matter in that some people are born with more fast twitch than slow twitch muscles and so are inherently better at either fast movement sports like sprinting or long distance endurance sports like marathons.
Comment sent via Facebook
Luis in Baghdad - It's rare for us to be really good at something we don't enjoy. And it's equally rare for us to enjoy something we're not good at. That's the crux of the chicken-and-egg problem that defining "talent" poses for us.
Comment sent via Facebook
Dominic on Facebook - Having a talent is both biological and social. The former is inherited and the later learnt.
Comment sent via Facebook
Lovemore in Lusaka, Zambia on Facebook - Talent enables one to perform far much better than other equally trained individuals or to achieve equal results with less effort and/or difficulty.
Comment sent via Facebook
Musa Issa on Facebook - I think talent is innate, but has to be honed. Some people possess genetic attributes that give them an edge over others, for example vocal talent, artistic ability.
Comment sent via BLOG
Laura in Kentucky on Facebook - Anyone can be taught a talent, any talent. It may take time and lots of effort but it is possible and they can be good at it. However, they may not ever become as talented at something as someone else who has a natural ability to do the same talent.
Comment sent via BLOG
Elias on the blog - There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that everyone has a potential of being very good or brilliant in some field or the other - however the opportunity to excel in any one field must be by chance that a person must either by accident or just happen to be in it, and hopefully have expert guidance to improve himself.
Comment sent via host
Hello - Ben S here. Today we''re asking whether there is such a thing as natural talent. Our guest Matthew Syed - former UK table tennis champion - says not. What do you think?