Luke Shepherd TC Chapter 3 Summary

Chapter Summary: The typical stories of 'kid from nowhere has insane amounts of innate talent and changes everything around him' all have a common thread that runs through them if we look more closely: their real gift was deep practice and a lot of it. The Bronte sisters were average, amateurish authors as children; however, they spent above average amounts of time writing and imagining, deep practicing and building skill at what would eventually culminate in great works of literature (only after years and hours of literary hell). The Z-Boys had not only logged hundreds of hours building cohesive motor skills to skateboarding as ocean surfers, but they were able to skate in the conveniently empty swimming pools of Bel Air and Beverly Hills to hone and fire circuits, deep practice and make and correct mistakes. The craft guilds of Florence allowed for the youth to apprentice the master artists and craftsmen of their time, getting rich experience and deep practice, firing and refiring circuits in an environment tailor fitted for myelin production. We are myelin beings, and we develop and become what circuits we fire, refire, and ultimately insulate the most.

Key Concept: We have all the tools we need within our brains to build skill and achieve mastery at our art. The more time we spend in deep practice, honing skill, making and correcting mistakes, the more myelin we will produce in the right areas of the brain to build skill.

Key Terms: Myelin Beings

Nature/Nurture

Making Connections: The real gift I have at this stage of my life is opportunity. I have opportunity to learn and to practice in an environment that will really contribute to building skill. The better I practice and the more time I spend at that 'better practice' the more skill I will build. Like the young artists of Florence apprenticing masters I too have opportunities to apprentice masters in my own field here at the university. I'm learning how to learn, how to really build skill.