The Dark Side of the New Theories of Success
If the times help explain the resurgence of genius-isn’t-in-your-genes proselytizers (they have been around before), the writers in turn shed light on the times. In particular, they call attention to our conflicted views of a crucial ingredient of this current “talent code”: hard work. In their calculus of success, these books endorse perspiration over inspiration as the key to extraordinary performance. The prevailing term is “deliberate practice,” introduced by K. Anders Ericsson, a psychologist cited in every one of these books for research that has led to the “10,000-hour rule.” That’s how much intensely focused training it takes to reach the expert level, in any field. Coyle’s more New Age coinage is “deep practice.” And that adjective, so much less stodgy than deliberate, gives us a clue to a certain ambivalence these authors display about effort. This literature is torn about just how taxing the travails it urges really are.”
