The Argument -- Skill vs. Persistence
Shenk expresses that the earlier one begins to rigorously practice a skill, the more skilled they tend to become. For example, Wolfgang Mozart "got everything [his sister] Nannerl got - only much earlier and even more intensely" (62). Later, Shenk also advocates self-discipline an persistence, arguing that "persistence is the difference between mediocrity and enormous success" (139). This combination of skill and persistence elicits the question of which is more important to overall success. Of skill and persistence, which is more important in the development of a genius? Is it possible to have one without the other? Be sure to compare skill and persistence in the many geniuses mentioned in the text, including but not limited to: the Mozart children, the Polgar children, Kenyan runners, baseball player Ted Williams, etc.
Brandon Axe
brandona0701@aol.com
I believe that with skill comes persistence. If one is good enough to excel in a certain area, then they are more likely to carry out a task to the fullest extent they can. Shenk uses a quote from Einstein saying that “It’s not that [he’s] so smart, […] it’s just that [he] stay’s with problems longer” (139). Einstein was able to persist in what he did because he had a talent for what he was doing. This form of persistence is what led Einstein to achieve his goals in his field. If one doesn’t have the talent to begin work in their field, it is less likely that the person will continue trying as they will look for a different field they can excel in. Since persistence comes from skill, it would more make sense that skill or talent be more responsible for the development of a genius.
ReplyDeleteWhile skill does foster persistence, time and amount of time practicing a skill can bring higher levels of persistence. Going off of my Einstein point, Einstein practiced his skill constantly; he was always thinking of new possible connections and ways to improve his ideas. In a study conducted by Junhyoung Kim, John Dattilo, and Jinmoo Heo titled Taekwondo Participation as Serious Leisure for Life Satisfaction and Health, the scientists were looking for correlations between people practicing taekwondo and the benefits from long term practice. Some of the correlations found were a “develop[ment of] a sense of perseverance, [an enjoyment of the experience, and an] increased sense of familiarity [with the concept] of Taekwondo (Dattilo, et al. 547). This relates to the idea of perseverance developing from skill in that Taekwondo is an intensive practice which requires the ability to push oneself from the very start. In this case, the skill would be endurance. If one doesn’t have some form of endurance when beginning this practice, they wouldn’t continue studying. An increase in enjoyment would stem from the familiarity with the practice and the perseverance would develop over time.
On the grounds of my argument, in relation to Ted Williams and the Mozarts, it is hard to say whether it was perseverance or skill that led to their success. I say this because, as I argue, one needs skill to begin gaining perseverance in a certain field. In both of these cases, the people in question started immediately in a field of high success, not trying a variety of fields while searching for their ‘calling’. It can be viewed upon as perseverance pushing them to success but what if these people had tried to apply their perseverance to a different field? I don’t believe they would have had as much success if that were to be the case.
As for a relevant biological theme, interdependence in nature may be a significant theme to consider because skill can be measured, in many cases, comparatively. If one’s work is to be measured based on the quality of work of others, then self-quality of work would play a heavy role in the development of perseverance. This, in a way, relates to the idea of cross-fostering study. If one is put into an environment where they are clearly different from all other individuals there may be advantages the individual may have over those in its community and over those of his own kind. As Campbell uses the cross-fostering experiment where a California mouse is raised by a white-footed mouse, the California mice were found to be less aggressive than those of their species tends to be (Campbell 1129). This is a skill that may put the mouse at a selective advantage when released into its own kind. In relation to humans, if one human has a skill no others have, it is likely he/she will exploit that skill to excel beyond all others. If he/she is more skilled than others in a field, it is more likely that he/she will persevere in their field of success.
Article: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=2597927121&sid=5&Fmt=6&clientId=15232&RQT=309&VName=PQD
Jesse Pukshansky (jesse.pukshansky@gmail.com)
PART ONE
ReplyDeleteSkill and Persistence are two different types of abilities. Skill is cognitive whereas persistence is non-cognitive. I think that both are essential for success.
I personally believe that persistence is more important. There are numerous individuals with talent but their talent goes to waste because they don’t make effective use of it. In regards to the question as to whether it is possible to have one without the other, well it surely is possible. However you cannot have one without the other if you are aiming for success. I agree with Shenk in that “In the end, persistence is the difference between mediocrity and enormous success” (139). Shenk’s evidence is very compelling. The study done with a group of four year-olds that proved that those who delayed gratification did better on the SAT than those who wanted immediate rewards was very intriguing. In this case even though the study was on ability to delay gratification primarily, it relates to persistence because those who delay gratification are persisting in their patience and in the ability to withstand seeking the reward right away. Shenk also previously mentioned that people who are praised on their mental abilities tend to work less harder and they are less willing to seek challenges whereas as people who are praised on their hard work are more willing to take challenges. The logic is similar in these two things. If people are praised early on for their abilities or if they’re gratified too soon (through praise or token economies), they are less likely to succeed later in life. On the other hand, if people are motivated to work hard and keep persisting while delaying gratification, they are more likely to be successful in the future. Persistence also relates to setting high expectations. If children are just rewarded for every good thing they do they will think they are doing fine and don’t need to do more. But if they are told they need to do more and people have higher expectations of them, children will persist in their hard work and achieve more. Shenk quoted Sherman and key when they found that “‘children develop only as the environment demands development’ “(47). This is basically saying that parents should set high expectations for their children if they want their children to succeed.
The article “The Truth about Persistence and Success” addresses persistence and whether it leads to success or failure. This article says that “persistence can lead to certain failure if you do not apply persistence in the right way”. There is an example of a woman who protests near downtown with a sign everyday for 17 years but nothing resulted from it. The point is that usually persistent people have a goal and they have a plan on how to get to their goal and while going for their goal they evaluate what they do and change their steps if needed. Successful people “were never persistent about the method they took to get to their goal”; they are persistent about holding onto their vision. This goes back to the idea that only skill isn’t useful. You have to apply your skills in the correct method and use a different set of skills than you originally planned to if necessary.
Nikitha (lakshmi_nikitha_1@yahoo.com)
PART TWO
DeleteCalvin Coolidge emphasized the importance of persistence. He said, “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not…persistence and determination alone are omnipotent” Coolidge is clearly taking the position that persistence is more important than skill as he says “talent will not”. I would agree with Coolidge because they are so many people in the world that have so much potential and so much talent but they haven’t sought out the right means to express their skills. Ezine articles say that whether a person is “a man of ordinary talents or someone endowed with exceptional creativity… [they must] cultivate persistence and determination”. Without persistence, one cannot withstand failures and if they let even one failure take them down, then they will fall short of their goal very quickly as a person faces many setbacks in life.
The concept of persistence can be applied to numerous fields of studies, including biology. On a biological level, many of the body’s systems persist in carrying out the functions that they are designed to serve. The humoral immune response which “involves the activation and clonal selection of effector B cells, which secrete antibodies that circulate in the blood and lymph” (Campbell 942) is an example demonstrating persistence. The immune system constantly fights bacteria and other pathogens without ever stopping. The immune system is biologically built with what it needs to do its job, and its innate capabilities would be correlated with skill. But the immune system having this skill of being able to kill pathogens is not sufficient. Through clonal selection, the immune system has to identify which B-cells are needed to create the antibodies that can fight and destroy the antigens that invaded the body. The immune system has to go through a catalog of antibodies to find the right one which takes days, metaphorically, this is persistence. If the immune system just decided to look into its memory cells and give up if the antibody needed wasn’t in the memory cell, then the individual would die. Also, an immune system will persistently fight the same pathogen even if it invades again and again. “If an individual is exposed again to the same antigen, the response is faster” (Campbell 941). Instead of giving up and shutting down, the immune system works smarter and faster than before. The immune system demonstrates persistence and never ceases carrying out its designated functions. The immune system already has the skills it needs, but without persisting and being constant, it could not effectively defend the human body against foreign-invading substances. On the other hand, in terms of natural selection, the skills that are useful for the time survive and get passed onto subsequent generations and last until they prove ineffective. So, skills too are essential. Skills are needed before persistence comes into play.
I disagree with Jesse in that with skill comes persistence. I don’t think that “If one is good enough to excel in a certain area, then they are more likely to carry out a task to the fullest extent they can” (Jesse). Although this is logical and is true in certain scenarios, it doesn’t apply to all of them. For example, I myself think that I am a skilled dancer but I don’t actively dance everyday or even pursue it. I just dance for fun and as a hobby when I have free tie. I don’t try to become a great dancer because I’m good at it. I found it interesting how Jesse brought up the point that some skills require persistence as a part of their acquisition. Taekwondo necessitates endurance and persistence in order to be good at it. This was an interesting point.
Nikitha (lakshmi_nikitha_1@yahoo.com)
PART THREE
DeleteOverall, I would take the position that persistence is more important for a person if they already have skill. But the first step is to develop one’s skill because talent sets the stage for success. Without any skills, persistence would be to no avail. However, persistence is very crucial and important.
http://www.dime-co.com/success_strategies/persistence_and_success.shtml
http://ezinearticles.com/?Persistence-and-Determination---The-Key-Determinants-For-Success&id=2522727
Nikitha (lakshmi_nikitha_1@yahoo.com)