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sevseverance's review against another edition
4.0
I first heard about this book on the what should I read next podcast. A guest was describing it as a book her kids’ school (I think a private or charter school) required all parents to read. I wanted to know what kind of book would be required by a school.
I listened to this book so I don’t have any underlines, but the author did a good job emphasizing the main points so these are my main takeaways.
He visited “hotbeds” of talent to look for commonalities. There is not innate genius, it is developed. It requires “deep practice” (so kids who seem like it’s natural had a different kind of deep practice) where kids practice in short bursts or focus on one short phrasing of music over and over. He emphasized over and over how important it was to praise effort instead of outcome or intelligence. He got into the biology- that it’s myelin- what wraps the nerves- that helps build talent. the stronger the myelin is, the stronger the skill- as you practice the myelin grows and helping the synapses become automatic.
One of the notes I took while reading was related to self perception. He cites a study where students with high commitment and low practice did better than low commitment and high practice- it’s what the students bring to the lesson or if they have the image of themselves as it. This brings into play concepts of motivation and how it affects students and performance. I wondered about how to support/nurture/develop motivation
Beyond deep practice, it is the commitment and motivation that is more predictive than how much they practice. He then described the power of ignition- the sparking of the drive/motivation. He gave an example of a baseball player from a small country who hit a home run in a World Series and how that sparked an interest in baseball among kids from his town. But ignition isn’t always that. I think ignition is the most interesting aspect of talent. The same events happen to two students and one ignited and one may not be. This is the importance of valuing each student and their lived experience and what they bring to school/the community.
For great learning, he emphasized the need at being pushed to a place of making easy mistakes- that’s where great learning and skills happen. I wonder how that applies to our current education system. That is not the general approach to teaching or schools today.
One of my favorite sections was when they talked about the important of teachers teaching love. That so many great athletes and musicians didn’t start with Olympic gold medalists or Grammy artists- but with average people around the neighborhood who taught kids to love the sport or the music or the learning- if kids love it, they will have that commitment and continue to deep practice.
In the end he talked about the importance/value of differentiating his coaching. He also talked about teaching literacy and how some approaches negatively impacted historically marginalized groups the most.
I was appreciative of this book. Although there may be some things I still question- his arguments are reassuring and encouraging. We all have power to develop and grow. And we all have the power to ignite an interest, a passion, a love in our kids/students.
I listened to this book so I don’t have any underlines, but the author did a good job emphasizing the main points so these are my main takeaways.
He visited “hotbeds” of talent to look for commonalities. There is not innate genius, it is developed. It requires “deep practice” (so kids who seem like it’s natural had a different kind of deep practice) where kids practice in short bursts or focus on one short phrasing of music over and over. He emphasized over and over how important it was to praise effort instead of outcome or intelligence. He got into the biology- that it’s myelin- what wraps the nerves- that helps build talent. the stronger the myelin is, the stronger the skill- as you practice the myelin grows and helping the synapses become automatic.
One of the notes I took while reading was related to self perception. He cites a study where students with high commitment and low practice did better than low commitment and high practice- it’s what the students bring to the lesson or if they have the image of themselves as it. This brings into play concepts of motivation and how it affects students and performance. I wondered about how to support/nurture/develop motivation
Beyond deep practice, it is the commitment and motivation that is more predictive than how much they practice. He then described the power of ignition- the sparking of the drive/motivation. He gave an example of a baseball player from a small country who hit a home run in a World Series and how that sparked an interest in baseball among kids from his town. But ignition isn’t always that. I think ignition is the most interesting aspect of talent. The same events happen to two students and one ignited and one may not be. This is the importance of valuing each student and their lived experience and what they bring to school/the community.
For great learning, he emphasized the need at being pushed to a place of making easy mistakes- that’s where great learning and skills happen. I wonder how that applies to our current education system. That is not the general approach to teaching or schools today.
One of my favorite sections was when they talked about the important of teachers teaching love. That so many great athletes and musicians didn’t start with Olympic gold medalists or Grammy artists- but with average people around the neighborhood who taught kids to love the sport or the music or the learning- if kids love it, they will have that commitment and continue to deep practice.
In the end he talked about the importance/value of differentiating his coaching. He also talked about teaching literacy and how some approaches negatively impacted historically marginalized groups the most.
I was appreciative of this book. Although there may be some things I still question- his arguments are reassuring and encouraging. We all have power to develop and grow. And we all have the power to ignite an interest, a passion, a love in our kids/students.
_rg's review against another edition
3.0
This is again one of those books that could be very aptly and sufficiently summarized into a long essay.
But no one pays $15 for an essay, and hence the book. I understand.
This book tries to push the idea of Myelin being the central element of acquiring skills and reiterates again and again that in-born skill is hugely overrated and what matters is deep practice and ignition. Very noble undertaking. No doubt.
However, there is a risk of platonicity. The risk of reducing something to a dogma-like existence where, in reality, it could be much more nuanced.
Also, I did not like the fact the book is too much focused on sports and music and not much on academics and science.
The book felt overly elongated, and unnecessarily done so. So I disliked reading through it.
Each character is provided a backstory, an introduction, the style of which felt repeatative. And there is the jock like oversimplification where people are known as "myelin guy", or stuff like that.
Although, I learned a lot from this book. I am grateful that this book was written. For example, the tip to break down a skill into smaller components, and master them individually.
I recommend reading this book, but the RoI will not be ideal. You can learn stiff from it.
But no one pays $15 for an essay, and hence the book. I understand.
This book tries to push the idea of Myelin being the central element of acquiring skills and reiterates again and again that in-born skill is hugely overrated and what matters is deep practice and ignition. Very noble undertaking. No doubt.
However, there is a risk of platonicity. The risk of reducing something to a dogma-like existence where, in reality, it could be much more nuanced.
Also, I did not like the fact the book is too much focused on sports and music and not much on academics and science.
The book felt overly elongated, and unnecessarily done so. So I disliked reading through it.
Each character is provided a backstory, an introduction, the style of which felt repeatative. And there is the jock like oversimplification where people are known as "myelin guy", or stuff like that.
Although, I learned a lot from this book. I am grateful that this book was written. For example, the tip to break down a skill into smaller components, and master them individually.
I recommend reading this book, but the RoI will not be ideal. You can learn stiff from it.
bhnmt61's review against another edition
3.0
You can get the central message of this book by reading the first couple of chapters. What makes it worth reading the rest is all the stories- Curaçaon little league baseball players, Russian tennis players, kids learning to read, teachers figuring out new ways to teach inner city kids, John Wooden, Tom Brady’s mentor. Fun book.
tashaseegmiller's review against another edition
5.0
The is an essential book for anyone who knows anyone trying to develop a talent or teaching someone a new skill or honing a talent. It is just so smart, exploring how our brains really increase our abilities at something. I already highlighted many things and will go back and re-read this many times over.
rsr143's review against another edition
4.0
Let me sum the book up for you......talent can be built like any other skill. It's the result of deliberate practice...which is repetition and trained coaching to help you improve. The mechanism for this happening is by myelin sheaths getting wrapped around nerves helping us to hone and lock in on repetitive behaviors. The book was very entertaining but seemed to rely a bit on the role of myelin as being the holy grail for exceptional performance. Think of this book as similar to Gladwell's "Outliers", but not as clever or fun to read :) ...however, there is a lot of science backing the assertions in the book, which I like.
veronicascottnova's review against another edition
3.0
Fascinating, though I'm not sure it's as well-balanced as it could be.
jurgenappelo's review against another edition
3.0
Somewhat simplistic principles offered with entertaining stories.
kimball_hansen's review against another edition
4.0
This book reminded me a lot of [b:Outliers: The Story of Success|3228917|Outliers The Story of Success|Malcolm Gladwell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344266315s/3228917.jpg|3364437] and [b:Mindset: The New Psychology of Success|40745|Mindset The New Psychology of Success|Carol S. Dweck|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1436227012s/40745.jpg|40330] and a touch of [b:The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It|10865206|The Willpower Instinct How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It|Kelly McGonigal|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1436737104s/10865206.jpg|17553514] and [b:The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business|12609433|The Power of Habit Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business|Charles Duhigg|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1366758683s/12609433.jpg|17624817]. It seemed at one point the author was against optimism/positive thinking and the power of belief, as if the Talent Code trumps everything. I think when you incorporate both aspects then the Talent Code can be enhanced and the notorious Myelins that the author loves will be wraped even more tightly around the axon.
I only wish the book would have talked more in detail about to inspire/ignite the passion in others. Seems like self-help books are always lacking in that department.
I wonder how/if I would have turned out different had I attended the KIPP school.
I only wish the book would have talked more in detail about to inspire/ignite the passion in others. Seems like self-help books are always lacking in that department.
I wonder how/if I would have turned out different had I attended the KIPP school.