The Talent Code: Chapter Summaries 1 and 2

Chapter Summary: Chapter 1

Chapter one starts to explain and delve into the concept of “Deep Practice.” The author explains his journey into seemingly unimpressive areas where incredible talent is created. He talks about Brazil and its ability to create great soccer players. Most would describe the countries love of soccer and poverty as the reason why talented soccer players come out of the country, but the author brings up another point. He theorizes that in struggle and making errors, we learn faster and enter into a “deep practicing” mode. The act of making mistakes and then fixing mistakes is what creates a strong connection in our brain and allows us to learn faster. The chapter finishes with sharing two real life examples, flight instruction, and soccer, that benefited from this type of learning.

 Key Concept:

The best way to increase skill is to make mistakes, but consistently try to improve them in a focused manner. This is called Deep Practice.

Key Terms:

Nature and Nurture

Deep Practicing

Making Connections:

I would like to improve at using mistakes as a way to improve. This means I need to have a better vision of where I want to go, so I can recognize what I need to change.

Chapter Summary: Chapter 2

Chapter 2 teaches us about the importance of Myelin. How it works, what it does, and why we need it to be "skilled" at something. This chapter focuses more on the physical nature of myelin. How it physically works in the brain; wrapping our neurons and synapses in an insulation of sorts. The basic idea is that the more myelin we can wrap around our neurons, the faster and more smooth our action and skill will be. To use an analogy from the chapter it turns a two way road into a highway. Things happen more quickly and with less effort. The last section of the chapter focused on Mr. Ericsson and his discoveries as a psychologist on the importance of practicing. Summed up, he learned that it takes approximately 10,000 hours of conscious practice to become a master at a certain skill or ability.

Key Concept:

Myelin is the physical process in which our brains can increase skill.

Key Terms:

Myelin

Oligos

Making Connections:

While learning about the process of growing Myelin is interesting, I need to remember that even focused practice still takes 10,000 hours to master. I need to remember the importance of practicing and still spend a lot of time working on music.