K. Anders Ericsson (1947–2020)

This book by Anders Ericsson is superb. I often wondered where the concepts of 'deliberate practice' and the '10,000-hour rule' originated. Now, I know!

The book is replete with case studies, all of which have been carefully chosen to highlight certain principles. There is a weakness in the book, and it is this: sometimes when he specifies the principles, it is difficult to spot them. You can miss them if you are not focused when reading the book. Treat this as an exercise in show more concentration!

Apart from this, Anders Ericsson has written an excellent book. There is a crucial chapter for those who cannot afford an expensive coach. This chapter is essential for most of us! show less

In "Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise," Anders Ericsson, a psychology professor, and Robert Pool, a science writer, debunk the myth that child prodigies are born with so much talent that they are destined to become standouts. Isn't it the case that Mozart was performing and composing as a small child? Ericsson and Pool look into the prodigy question and find that the issue is more complex than it seems. Leopold Mozart, Wolfgang's father, was a musician who taught his daughter show more and son to play a variety of instruments at very young ages. He immersed them in musicology and encouraged them to practice deliberately. Therefore, whatever gifts they had were incalculably enhanced by their father's tutelage.

What does this mean for the average person? The authors insist that, by approaching the learning of new skills with deliberation, focus, and proper motivation—preferably with the support and feedback of an excellent coach or teacher—many individuals, even those without obvious promise, can reach undreamed of heights. For the most part, greatness is cultivated, not genetic, and using methods that have proved effective, we can educate our youngsters to be more accomplished musicians, scientists, mathematicians, and athletes. Those who succeed devise "mental representations," break up specific skills into concrete steps, and work through them one by one. Not everyone will be a Nobel Prize winner, a world-class pianist, or an Olympian, but that is beside the point. Improvement over time is the desired result.

This work of non-fiction is enriched with anecdotes about individuals who set out to accomplish something special. Some found ways to memorize long strings of numbers; become chess grandmasters; beat top opponents at Scrabble; master the violin; or improve their medical skills. According to this book, any of these tasks can be made more achievable by going about them methodically and productively. Merely practicing is not enough, especially if you make the same mistakes over and over. Deliberate and focused practice of the right kind, accomplished at the proper pace, preferably with the help of outstanding instructors, is what separates ordinary from extraordinary achievers. Ericsson and Poole make the case that our brains and bodies are adaptable, and that, with the necessary incentive and training, children in particular (but adults, as well) can become more capable learners. Although this contradicts what some of us believe, this thesis is supported by a well-documented research. "Peak" is relatively jargon-free, well-organized, entertaining, and persuasive. The good news is that "potential is an expandable vessel, shaped by the various things we do throughout our lives." show less

An interesting look at how the world's most exceptional people got that way, and the lessons the rest of us can learn from it. Ericsson is the academic whose research formed the basis of Malcolm Gladwell's famous "10,000 hours" rule; Ericsson criticizes Gladwell for misunderstanding and misrepresenting his research and seems to have written this book in part as a response. (If the popularizers are getting my stuff wrong, then I'll just hire a co-author and popularize it myself!)

From show more studying people becoming great at things consequential (classical music) and not (memorizing long lists of numbers), Ericsson identifies a few key factors necessary for success: true growth comes from practicing at a level that pushes boundaries, with expert guidance from teachers familiar with good habits, all in the interests of developing "mental representations" of success (everything from exactly what one's body should do in an athletic competition to what a particular position on a chess board means) that encode this vital information in durable, accessible long-term memory.

Ericsson doesn't get into a few angles I would be curious to learn more of: how happy, successful and adjusted his single-subject experts are when not doing their specialty, and exactly how efficient his "deliberate practice" techniques are. That is, even if every all-time great got so through diligent application of a particular method, that doesn't mean that everyone who diligently applies that particular method will become an all-time great. Spending 10,000 hours may be worth it to become a world-class violinist, but is it worth sacrificing an entire childhood just to become a pretty good violinist?

More significantly, I wish Ericsson had focused less on experts and more on how ordinary people can use his talents to become better (but not necessarily the best) at matters of everyday life. He devotes one chapter, and bits of others, to this question, but perpetually returns to the question of how to become world-class. Since very few of us are going to devote our entire lives to becoming experts in one particular area, I'd have found a book that segued from what we can learn from experts in Part 1 to how the rest of us can apply that in our own lives in Part 2 to be more interesting.

If there is one overwhelming takeaway from the book about how to become a world-class expert, I'd say it's this: pick an immature field for your expertise. Mature fields like classical music or chess will require far more investment of time and practice to be better than everyone else, simply because so many other people are already putting in those huge investments. But you could become the best in the world at something less developed by devoting a few thousand or even a few hundred hours, rather than 10,000 or 20,000. show less

In "Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise," Anders Ericsson, a psychology professor, and Robert Pool, a science writer, debunk the myth that child prodigies are born with so much talent that they are destined to become standouts. Isn't it the case that Mozart was performing and composing as a small child? Ericsson and Pool look into the prodigy question and find that the issue is more complex than it seems. Leopold Mozart, Wolfgang's father, was a musician who taught his daughter show more and son to play a variety of instruments at very young ages. He immersed them in musicology and encouraged them to practice deliberately. Therefore, whatever gifts they had were incalculably enhanced by their father's tutelage.

What does this mean for the average person? The authors insist that, by approaching the learning of new skills with deliberation, focus, and proper motivation—preferably with the support and feedback of an excellent coach or teacher—many individuals, even those without obvious promise, can reach undreamed of heights. For the most part, greatness is cultivated, not genetic, and using methods that have proved effective, we can educate our youngsters to be more accomplished musicians, scientists, mathematicians, and athletes. Those who succeed devise "mental representations," break up specific skills into concrete steps, and work through them one by one. Not everyone will be a Nobel Prize winner, a world-class pianist, or an Olympian, but that is beside the point. Improvement over time is the desired result.

This work of non-fiction is enriched with anecdotes about individuals who set out to accomplish something special. Some found ways to memorize long strings of numbers; become chess grandmasters; beat top opponents at Scrabble; master the violin; or improve their medical skills. According to this book, any of these tasks can be made more achievable by going about them methodically and productively. Merely practicing is not enough, especially if you make the same mistakes over and over. Deliberate and focused practice of the right kind, accomplished at the proper pace, preferably with the help of outstanding instructors, is what separates ordinary from extraordinary achievers. Ericsson and Poole make the case that our brains and bodies are adaptable, and that, with the necessary incentive and training, children in particular (but adults, as well) can become more capable learners. Although this contradicts what some of us believe, this thesis is supported by a well-documented research. "Peak" is relatively jargon-free, well-organized, entertaining, and persuasive. The good news is that "potential is an expandable vessel, shaped by the various things we do throughout our lives." show less