Learning
I've been trying to learn some Arabic and, inevitably, whenever I try to learn something new, I run into someone who says some like "oh, wow, I can't do that, I'm just not a (blank) person." You hear this for almost every subject. "I'm just not a math person," "I'm just not a science person," "I'm just not a language person." And while certainly some brains do particular tasks better than others, it's hard for me to accept that this difference is really as great as people think among regular folks.
Say it takes a super-genius only one repetition to remember or master something and say it takes an idiot sixteen or so. Assuming a standard bell-curve distrabution, the average person would require around eight repetitions. Probably, roughly two-thirds of society would be within the first standard deviation from four to twelve repetitions and ninety-five percent of society would be within the second standard deviation between two and fourteen repetitions. Say one is very below average in something and is in at the bottom 5% of society. It still is only taking the person 6 more repetitions from the average, or 75% longer.
Am I not assuming a lot of numbers there? Yes, maybe I'm assuming a spherical cow (google this term if you don't know it). The point, though, is that most people are near the mean. To say we are exceptionally smart or dumb is difficult and even if we do assume we are exceptional, the effective result in the world often isn't all that great. The fastest man in the world runs a little faster than a 10 second 100 meter. Most of us can run a 15 second 100 meter and a fat ass can run a 20 second 100 meter. Doing something 50% to 100% better or worse may be the range for most things.
Considering how much wasted time we have in the day doing things like chatting about nothing, watching TV and surfing the internet, it means we are all capable of many great things, even if we are below average.
And even if the difference were large, does it really absolve people from not trying? Say it takes one person three times the time to learn a language or three times the miles to stay thin, is that justification for not doing it? I've met people who have lived in foreign countries for over ten years who have not learned the langauge because they believe their brains can't do it. I've met extremely fat individuals who believe they are simply genetically cursed. I've met people with personality flaws that are aware of them, but rather than trying to change them, they simply accept them as innate.
Again, we are all capable of great things, we just vary in the work and effort we need to expend. I am probably capable or doing an Iron Man or learning Polish, but, after weighing the costs and the benefits, I don't think it's worth it to do either. People that claim they are genetically hindered probably just don't think it is worth doing an activity and need an excuse not to do it.
Oddly, this idea of the brain innately being hardwired for certain subjects hasn't passed on to other things. When it comes to musical intruments and sports, people always say that practice makes perfect. And while often people don't put in the practice, they somehow believe that they could be great if they tried. And they are right. This attitude needs to be applied to all things.
Say it takes a super-genius only one repetition to remember or master something and say it takes an idiot sixteen or so. Assuming a standard bell-curve distrabution, the average person would require around eight repetitions. Probably, roughly two-thirds of society would be within the first standard deviation from four to twelve repetitions and ninety-five percent of society would be within the second standard deviation between two and fourteen repetitions. Say one is very below average in something and is in at the bottom 5% of society. It still is only taking the person 6 more repetitions from the average, or 75% longer.
Am I not assuming a lot of numbers there? Yes, maybe I'm assuming a spherical cow (google this term if you don't know it). The point, though, is that most people are near the mean. To say we are exceptionally smart or dumb is difficult and even if we do assume we are exceptional, the effective result in the world often isn't all that great. The fastest man in the world runs a little faster than a 10 second 100 meter. Most of us can run a 15 second 100 meter and a fat ass can run a 20 second 100 meter. Doing something 50% to 100% better or worse may be the range for most things.
Considering how much wasted time we have in the day doing things like chatting about nothing, watching TV and surfing the internet, it means we are all capable of many great things, even if we are below average.
And even if the difference were large, does it really absolve people from not trying? Say it takes one person three times the time to learn a language or three times the miles to stay thin, is that justification for not doing it? I've met people who have lived in foreign countries for over ten years who have not learned the langauge because they believe their brains can't do it. I've met extremely fat individuals who believe they are simply genetically cursed. I've met people with personality flaws that are aware of them, but rather than trying to change them, they simply accept them as innate.
Again, we are all capable of great things, we just vary in the work and effort we need to expend. I am probably capable or doing an Iron Man or learning Polish, but, after weighing the costs and the benefits, I don't think it's worth it to do either. People that claim they are genetically hindered probably just don't think it is worth doing an activity and need an excuse not to do it.
Oddly, this idea of the brain innately being hardwired for certain subjects hasn't passed on to other things. When it comes to musical intruments and sports, people always say that practice makes perfect. And while often people don't put in the practice, they somehow believe that they could be great if they tried. And they are right. This attitude needs to be applied to all things.
posted by American Dilettante at
10:53 AM
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