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Bounce
Why have all the sprinters who have run the 100 meters in under ten seconds been black?
What's one thing Mozart, Venus Williams, and Michelangelo have in common?
Is it good to praise a child's intelligence?
Why are baseball players so superstitious?
Few things in life are more satisfying than beating a rival. We love to win and hate to lose, whether it's on the playing field or at the ballot box, in the office or in the classroom. In this bold new look at human behavior, award-winning journalist and Olympian Matthew Syed explores the truth about our competitive nature—why we win, why we don't, and how we really play the game of life. Bounce reveals how competition—the most vivid, primal, and dramatic of human pursuits—provides vital insight into many of the most controversial issues of our time, from biology and economics, to psychology and culture, to genetics and race, to sports and politics.
Backed by cutting-edge scientific research and case studies, Syed shatters long-held myths about meritocracy, talent, performance, and the mind. He explains why some people thrive under pressure and others choke, and weighs the value of innate ability against that of practice, hard work, and will. From sex to math, from the motivation of children to the culture of big business, Bounce shows how competition provides a master key with which to unlock the mysteries of the world.
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First published April 20, 2010
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About the author
Matthew Syed
71 books552 followers Matthew Syed is an author and highly acclaimed speaker in the field of high performance. He has written six bestselling books on the subject of mindset and high performance – Rebel Ideas, Bounce, Black Box Thinking, The Greatest, and his celebrated children’s books, You Are Awesome and The You Are Awesome Journal – and has worked with many leading organisations to build a mindset of continuous improvement. He is also a multi-award-winning journalist for The Times and a regular contributor to television and radio. In his previous career, Matthew was the England table tennis number one for almost a decade.
Matthew’s work explores a thought-provoking approach to high performance in the context of a complex and fast-changing world. By understanding the intimate connection between mindset and high performance, organisations can unlock untapped potential in individuals and teams, driving innovation and agility to secure a future-proofed environment.
Matthew is also co-founder of Matthew Syed Consulting (MSC); the company has worked with an impressive portfolio of clients to build growth mindset cultures and drive higher performance in individuals, teams and organisations. Matthew Syed Consulting’s cutting-edge thought leadership programme and digital learning tools are becoming a catalyst for real and lasting change within business and the public sector.
Matthew’s work explores a thought-provoking approach to high performance in the context of a complex and fast-changing world. By understanding the intimate connection between mindset and high performance, organisations can unlock untapped potential in individuals and teams, driving innovation and agility to secure a future-proofed environment.
Matthew is also co-founder of Matthew Syed Consulting (MSC); the company has worked with an impressive portfolio of clients to build growth mindset cultures and drive higher performance in individuals, teams and organisations. Matthew Syed Consulting’s cutting-edge thought leadership programme and digital learning tools are becoming a catalyst for real and lasting change within business and the public sector.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 726 reviews
November 22, 2022
The former world class, British table tennis champions pens a fantastic book with thoughts, evidence and actual proven science data that completely debunks popular myths that talent is the key defining attribute of successful sports people and people in general; when it is actually hard work and lots and lots of hours of effective training and learning.
In addition he completely debunks the racial stereotyping attributed to perceived racial dominance in sports such as sprinting and distance running with scientific experiments and their accompanying data. A brilliant book and a must-read for anyone interested in excellence... and science! A very firm Four Star, 9 out of 12 read
#
2012 read
In addition he completely debunks the racial stereotyping attributed to perceived racial dominance in sports such as sprinting and distance running with scientific experiments and their accompanying data. A brilliant book and a must-read for anyone interested in excellence... and science! A very firm Four Star, 9 out of 12 read
#2012 read
September 12, 2023
This is a thoroughly enjoyable book; it appears to be the first of two books written by Matthew Syed. He is a champion table tennis player. He combines his own experience in his climb to champion status with the experiences of other champion sportsmen and celebrities, to come to some very interesting conclusions about what allows someone to excel to the top in a field. The secret, if there is one, is that circumstances arise that allow someone to start practicing and developing from a relatively early age. These people are lucky to some extent; the early availability of a superior coach, or a good environment, or an encouraging set of parents or teachers. But that is not all. To become a top player in any field, there is no such thing as inherited talent. It takes very hard work over an extended period of time. There are no child prodigies; there are only children who put in a lot of effort, and guided practice to become the best of the best.
The book is very similar to Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Story of Success. In fact, Syed pulls a lot of his examples from Gladwell's book. But Syed adds his own personal touch; since he is a sports champion, he is able to add his own background and anecdotes to the book, and a slightly different point of view.
Syed discusses what he calls the "talent myth", the idea that some people are just born with a particular aptitude. He totally destroys this myth. Now it is true (for example, see The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance) that certain body types are more suitable for certain sports than others. A short person is less likely to excel in basketball, while he may be better suited for gymnastics. One's genes do, to some extent, determine the sports that one is most likely to excel in. But beyond that, hard work is absolutely essential. Mozart was not a child prodigy because of an innate talent, but he had a father who was an excellent music teacher. Mozart did not create original works of art until he was twenty-one, and had thousands of hours under his belt in playing and composing music.
Syed makes an interesting point, that the talent myth is believed by so many, and that as a result it is very damaging to some institutions. These institutions "insist on placing inexperienced individuals--albeit with strong reasoning skills--in positions of power". They do not understand that domain knowledge may be more important than reasoning ability. An example that comes to mind is the military, where officers are rotated from one job to another, even outside of their areas of expertise. They are in effect managers with no expert understanding of the technical field in which they preside.
There is an amazing story about Laszlo Polgar, a Hungarian educational psychologist. He was an early advocate of the practice theory of expertise. His central thesis was that areas of expertise can be open to all, and not just to people with special talents. He was not believed, so he devised an experiment with his yet unborn daughters. He would train his children to play chess, a game where he was not an expert. He took care to allow his three daughters to become internally motivated to love the game, and to practice it frequently. Polgar himself was not a good chess player, but he thought that the international rating system would help to objectively quantify the level that his children would ultimately attain. To make a long story short, each of his three daughters became world-class chess players.
When people observe youths excelling in some field, they often are biased by the so-called "iceberg illusion": they assume that the youths have special abilities "because they had witnessed only a tiny percentage of the activity that had gone into its making." Onlookers do not see the painfully slow progress made over a period of years, during the training period.
To become a world-class achiever in any field, it is not only the sheer number of hours of practice that is important; it is also the type of practice. Syed writes that "world-class performance comes by striving for a target just out of reach, but with a vivid awareness of how the gap might be breached. Over time, through constant repetition and deep concentration, the gap will disappear, only for a new target to be created, just out of reach once again." And he writes that "Excellence is about stepping outside the comfort zone, training with a spirit of endeavor, and accepting the inevitability of trials and tribulations."
Syed describes many psychological experiments designed to understand what motivates people to excel. These experiments have been described in many other books, so there is nothing truly new here. But there is one result worth mentioning, even though it is not new; it is better to praise a child's effort than his intelligence or skill. By praising his intelligence, the child will not necessarily be motivated to try his hardest, and may even have the opposite of the intended effect. Lowering standards can help to boost the self-esteem of a student, but can simply lead to poorly-educated students who feel entitled to "easy work and lavish praise".
I really enjoyed Syed's description of the difference between a scientist and an athlete. A scientist always is in doubt with a sense of inner skepticism. However, a good athlete should not be in doubt; to an athlete, doubt is poison.
I have just touched the surface of the numerous aspects of sports psychology and training that are discussed in this book. This is an excellent, entertaining book that goes in some depth into performance in not only sports, but other fields that require concentration, skills, and training. I highly recommend the book to everyone.
The book is very similar to Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Story of Success. In fact, Syed pulls a lot of his examples from Gladwell's book. But Syed adds his own personal touch; since he is a sports champion, he is able to add his own background and anecdotes to the book, and a slightly different point of view.
Syed discusses what he calls the "talent myth", the idea that some people are just born with a particular aptitude. He totally destroys this myth. Now it is true (for example, see The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance) that certain body types are more suitable for certain sports than others. A short person is less likely to excel in basketball, while he may be better suited for gymnastics. One's genes do, to some extent, determine the sports that one is most likely to excel in. But beyond that, hard work is absolutely essential. Mozart was not a child prodigy because of an innate talent, but he had a father who was an excellent music teacher. Mozart did not create original works of art until he was twenty-one, and had thousands of hours under his belt in playing and composing music.
Syed makes an interesting point, that the talent myth is believed by so many, and that as a result it is very damaging to some institutions. These institutions "insist on placing inexperienced individuals--albeit with strong reasoning skills--in positions of power". They do not understand that domain knowledge may be more important than reasoning ability. An example that comes to mind is the military, where officers are rotated from one job to another, even outside of their areas of expertise. They are in effect managers with no expert understanding of the technical field in which they preside.
There is an amazing story about Laszlo Polgar, a Hungarian educational psychologist. He was an early advocate of the practice theory of expertise. His central thesis was that areas of expertise can be open to all, and not just to people with special talents. He was not believed, so he devised an experiment with his yet unborn daughters. He would train his children to play chess, a game where he was not an expert. He took care to allow his three daughters to become internally motivated to love the game, and to practice it frequently. Polgar himself was not a good chess player, but he thought that the international rating system would help to objectively quantify the level that his children would ultimately attain. To make a long story short, each of his three daughters became world-class chess players.
When people observe youths excelling in some field, they often are biased by the so-called "iceberg illusion": they assume that the youths have special abilities "because they had witnessed only a tiny percentage of the activity that had gone into its making." Onlookers do not see the painfully slow progress made over a period of years, during the training period.
To become a world-class achiever in any field, it is not only the sheer number of hours of practice that is important; it is also the type of practice. Syed writes that "world-class performance comes by striving for a target just out of reach, but with a vivid awareness of how the gap might be breached. Over time, through constant repetition and deep concentration, the gap will disappear, only for a new target to be created, just out of reach once again." And he writes that "Excellence is about stepping outside the comfort zone, training with a spirit of endeavor, and accepting the inevitability of trials and tribulations."
Syed describes many psychological experiments designed to understand what motivates people to excel. These experiments have been described in many other books, so there is nothing truly new here. But there is one result worth mentioning, even though it is not new; it is better to praise a child's effort than his intelligence or skill. By praising his intelligence, the child will not necessarily be motivated to try his hardest, and may even have the opposite of the intended effect. Lowering standards can help to boost the self-esteem of a student, but can simply lead to poorly-educated students who feel entitled to "easy work and lavish praise".
I really enjoyed Syed's description of the difference between a scientist and an athlete. A scientist always is in doubt with a sense of inner skepticism. However, a good athlete should not be in doubt; to an athlete, doubt is poison.
I have just touched the surface of the numerous aspects of sports psychology and training that are discussed in this book. This is an excellent, entertaining book that goes in some depth into performance in not only sports, but other fields that require concentration, skills, and training. I highly recommend the book to everyone.
February 6, 2014
Hmm. Judging by the high ratings, some people were surprised to hear that the harder you work at stuff, the better you get. The surprise is that this is a surprise to some people.
January 21, 2012
When I first read the title ‘Bounce’ by Matthew Syed, I was more intrigued with the name of the author than on what the book was about.
Mathew Syed - a British Journalist and Broadcaster was, as it turned out was born of a British Pakistani father and a Welsh mother. To his credentials he was a Five times Men’s Single Champion at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Champion and represented Great Britain for two Olympic Games.
His book Bounce thus turned out to be a book that focused on excellence in sports. It is always a great literally contribution when you have an expert with hands-on experience share their insights in a manner that is clear, easy to understand
Most of the concepts in this book have been borrowed from best sellers like The Outliers, the Talent Code, or Talent is Overrated, which he explicitly and often acknowledges. The key focal point that made this book stand out was the biographical summary he was able to provide of champions and what made them that way.
Among the many chapters he has outlined in his book, the one principle which I took to heart was the 10,000 hour principle. What he states is that what you tend to do for 10,000 hours with total dedication and excellence is what you will be good at – and it could be anything. And thus debunking the ‘talent myth’ as they call it. That is what made Mozart, Tiger Woods or the William sisters famous for who they were. In fact he humbly admits what took him to the top of his game was a simple advantage – he had access to learning table tennis and practicing it where so many others did not.
Though the book is divided into three sections namely The Talent Myth, Paradoxes of the Mind and Deep Reflections, I felt the book had a singular theme and that was the capacity of any human being to become the best of best if he was able to dedicate the time, effort, money and yes – his own life to one single cause with absolute excellence and commitment.
Overall, a highly enjoyable book and compulsory reading for anyone of any age group. And coming from a person who has achieved success – I say it is a very credible source of information and inspiration.
Overall rating 10 out of 10.
Mathew Syed - a British Journalist and Broadcaster was, as it turned out was born of a British Pakistani father and a Welsh mother. To his credentials he was a Five times Men’s Single Champion at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Champion and represented Great Britain for two Olympic Games.
His book Bounce thus turned out to be a book that focused on excellence in sports. It is always a great literally contribution when you have an expert with hands-on experience share their insights in a manner that is clear, easy to understand
Most of the concepts in this book have been borrowed from best sellers like The Outliers, the Talent Code, or Talent is Overrated, which he explicitly and often acknowledges. The key focal point that made this book stand out was the biographical summary he was able to provide of champions and what made them that way.
Among the many chapters he has outlined in his book, the one principle which I took to heart was the 10,000 hour principle. What he states is that what you tend to do for 10,000 hours with total dedication and excellence is what you will be good at – and it could be anything. And thus debunking the ‘talent myth’ as they call it. That is what made Mozart, Tiger Woods or the William sisters famous for who they were. In fact he humbly admits what took him to the top of his game was a simple advantage – he had access to learning table tennis and practicing it where so many others did not.
Though the book is divided into three sections namely The Talent Myth, Paradoxes of the Mind and Deep Reflections, I felt the book had a singular theme and that was the capacity of any human being to become the best of best if he was able to dedicate the time, effort, money and yes – his own life to one single cause with absolute excellence and commitment.
Overall, a highly enjoyable book and compulsory reading for anyone of any age group. And coming from a person who has achieved success – I say it is a very credible source of information and inspiration.
Overall rating 10 out of 10.
Read
June 26, 2010Bounce - Matthew Syed
I read Syed got a million dollar advance for this, which made quite a few people wonder. Apparently he (or actually his agent Jonny Geller) pitched the book as the 'Freakonomics of Sport'. It got reworked along the way so it applies now to life in general, with the title getting dressed up rather late in the process. The title had listed Tiger Woods; he was dropped, and 'Bounce' was picked as a hook word for the title. I am kind of surprised they didn't decide to edit Tiger out of the text completely. I imagine there is quite a bit of pressure with the publisher to make back the million.
The book is really very good. I've long had the opinion that genius is developed rather than born, in spite of being preached the 'talent' myth by my parents.
I think that the next myth to fall will be the myth (only dealt with slightly in this book) of age and learning. Like the 'talent' myth it has a tiny amount of truth, and an enormous amount of self fulfilling prophecy. Recent scientific study is showing that the brain has far more plasticity than ever believed throughout your entire life. And the thing about adults not growing new brain cells is actually completely false. I am certain that anything including language and perfect musical pitch can be learned at any age. Just give it the same amount of time and intensity and the right sort of 'productive practice', all things Syed talks about in this book. Perhaps the form of the 'productive practice' changes between the juvenile and adult brain.
This book is a collection of quite a few different things. Syed is a very insightful and informed thinker and the ideas here are stimulating.
For instance one chapter examines the myth of 'race' versus the scientific proof of the non-existance of race. It's time now for that 19th century pseudo-science fossil to die. The 2010 US Census lists as separate races: Samoan, Guamanian, Chamorro, Pakistani, Fijian, Cambodian, Hmong, Thai, Laotian, Tongan, etc!! The Tongan race ... really? There is only one race - the human race.
There's another very interesting chapter which has some new ways to think about performance enhancing substances and methods. When is enhancement a good thing, when and why in other circumstances is it not?
Although there are lots of similarities to the book Outlier by Malcolm Gladwell (see my review), i like Bounce more. There is another book also just out on a similar topic, The Genius in All of Us by David Shenk which is perhaps even a better book.
I read Syed got a million dollar advance for this, which made quite a few people wonder. Apparently he (or actually his agent Jonny Geller) pitched the book as the 'Freakonomics of Sport'. It got reworked along the way so it applies now to life in general, with the title getting dressed up rather late in the process. The title had listed Tiger Woods; he was dropped, and 'Bounce' was picked as a hook word for the title. I am kind of surprised they didn't decide to edit Tiger out of the text completely. I imagine there is quite a bit of pressure with the publisher to make back the million.
The book is really very good. I've long had the opinion that genius is developed rather than born, in spite of being preached the 'talent' myth by my parents.
I think that the next myth to fall will be the myth (only dealt with slightly in this book) of age and learning. Like the 'talent' myth it has a tiny amount of truth, and an enormous amount of self fulfilling prophecy. Recent scientific study is showing that the brain has far more plasticity than ever believed throughout your entire life. And the thing about adults not growing new brain cells is actually completely false. I am certain that anything including language and perfect musical pitch can be learned at any age. Just give it the same amount of time and intensity and the right sort of 'productive practice', all things Syed talks about in this book. Perhaps the form of the 'productive practice' changes between the juvenile and adult brain.
This book is a collection of quite a few different things. Syed is a very insightful and informed thinker and the ideas here are stimulating.
For instance one chapter examines the myth of 'race' versus the scientific proof of the non-existance of race. It's time now for that 19th century pseudo-science fossil to die. The 2010 US Census lists as separate races: Samoan, Guamanian, Chamorro, Pakistani, Fijian, Cambodian, Hmong, Thai, Laotian, Tongan, etc!! The Tongan race ... really? There is only one race - the human race.
There's another very interesting chapter which has some new ways to think about performance enhancing substances and methods. When is enhancement a good thing, when and why in other circumstances is it not?
Although there are lots of similarities to the book Outlier by Malcolm Gladwell (see my review), i like Bounce more. There is another book also just out on a similar topic, The Genius in All of Us by David Shenk which is perhaps even a better book.
May 16, 2014
I have to say that Bounce was a bit like taking a refresher course, having already read Geoff Covlin's Talent Is Overrated, Daniel Coyle's The Talent Code, and Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, all three of which Syed acknowledges as worthy predecessors. So I didn't learn a great deal new from reading Bounce. But a refresher, with some new information added, is worthwhile, and so I found this book. (I should also note that all four books draw on the pioneering work of academic psychologist Anders Ericsson.)
If you want to develop a talent or a skill, practice deliberately (with a focused intention) for 10,000 hours, and you'll have gone a long way toward acheiving your goal. Throw in outstanding peers and quality coaching, and you'll really go far. This formula for success replaces that idea that some are simply "talented". None of these authors gives much credence to genetics. No, it's about learning. Deliberate practice--practicing to get better and to cure weaknesses--is what allows real learning and skills improvement. Drive a car with no special thought to the matter and you'll be the same after 10,000 hours of driving, but do it in deliberately challenging ways and environments with the intention of improving, and you could be the next Mario Andretti. (I know, I date myself.)
Seyd does go into some topics that his predecessors didn't, such as placebo effect--in other words--the power of belief. (Although he doesn't delve into it, but the placebo effect raises some really interesting issues of the mind-body relationship and causation.) I also enjoyed his chapter on "choking", which any athlete or other performer has experienced. What it amounts to is that we "think" when we shouldn't. We try to teach the centipede to walk when it should just walk. This ties in to the power of ritual in performance, which is another fascinating subject and full of bizarre anecdotes. But as an old jock, I can attest to the power and command of rituals. In the last section, Seyd touches on drug enhancement--what's good and fair and human and what isn't (not clear) and genetics (are blacks better runners?). On the latter topic, Seyd takes down the idea that blacks, specifically sprinters from west Africa via the U.S. and Jamaica and distance runners from Kenya (and later Ethiopia) have any special genetic endowments. It's simply the outlier affect--chance, environment, reward, opportunity, etc.--that makes all of the difference.
It was a fun, easy, and instructive book, valuable for anyone who has to perform. Like us humans.
If you want to develop a talent or a skill, practice deliberately (with a focused intention) for 10,000 hours, and you'll have gone a long way toward acheiving your goal. Throw in outstanding peers and quality coaching, and you'll really go far. This formula for success replaces that idea that some are simply "talented". None of these authors gives much credence to genetics. No, it's about learning. Deliberate practice--practicing to get better and to cure weaknesses--is what allows real learning and skills improvement. Drive a car with no special thought to the matter and you'll be the same after 10,000 hours of driving, but do it in deliberately challenging ways and environments with the intention of improving, and you could be the next Mario Andretti. (I know, I date myself.)
Seyd does go into some topics that his predecessors didn't, such as placebo effect--in other words--the power of belief. (Although he doesn't delve into it, but the placebo effect raises some really interesting issues of the mind-body relationship and causation.) I also enjoyed his chapter on "choking", which any athlete or other performer has experienced. What it amounts to is that we "think" when we shouldn't. We try to teach the centipede to walk when it should just walk. This ties in to the power of ritual in performance, which is another fascinating subject and full of bizarre anecdotes. But as an old jock, I can attest to the power and command of rituals. In the last section, Seyd touches on drug enhancement--what's good and fair and human and what isn't (not clear) and genetics (are blacks better runners?). On the latter topic, Seyd takes down the idea that blacks, specifically sprinters from west Africa via the U.S. and Jamaica and distance runners from Kenya (and later Ethiopia) have any special genetic endowments. It's simply the outlier affect--chance, environment, reward, opportunity, etc.--that makes all of the difference.
It was a fun, easy, and instructive book, valuable for anyone who has to perform. Like us humans.
May 17, 2020
Am avut o discuție cu un amic, zilele trecute, despre performanță. Tipul, fost mare voleibalist, m-a întrebat, când i-am spus despre faptul că îi caut băiatului meu deja un liceu pe-afară, dacă va dori să continue cu baschetul la modul serios: păi, are talent, e ce trebuie? Și i-am spus că nu cred în treaba asta cu talentul și că și specialiștii au descoperit că nu există nicio legătură între talent și marea performanță. Și că studiez problema asta foarte serios. Despre asta este și cartea lui Syed, care vorbește despre faptul că a ajunge să fii excepțional nu se leagă de gene, de talent, ci mult mai important este exercițiul metodic, practicat cu religiozitate. Exercițiul și provocarea permanentă vor transforma felul în care creierul tău procesează sarcinile pe care trebuie să le facă. Este cam aceeași idee pe care o expune și Ericsson, în Peak. Ce adaugă Syed este că atitudinea contează foarte mult, încrederea pe care o ai în faptul că antrenamentul te va duce în punctul în care vei stăpâni ceea ce faci în amănunt. La fel, e important cât și ce înveți din eșecuri.
November 16, 2018
Says much about me I’m sure, that I much preferred the kiddies version: you are awesome!
Still a fantastic read, and this time with the science only briefly covered in the previous. As an educator, I found the first half far more interesting and relevant, whilst the second half on placebo and genetics merely ... interesting!
:o)
Still a fantastic read, and this time with the science only briefly covered in the previous. As an educator, I found the first half far more interesting and relevant, whilst the second half on placebo and genetics merely ... interesting!
:o)
April 11, 2017
Passionate, compelling and…misleading
What is the genesis of world class achievement in sports and other endeavours such as art?
Observers usually nominate two variables, exemplified by the following news excerpts about the 2012 Wimbledon final:
"Talent does what it can. Genius does what it must. The old Edward Bulwer-Lytton aphorism smacked Andy Murray round the head in his first Wimbledon final, his fourth in grand slam tournaments overall. Murray was as good as he could be. Federer was the master we always knew he was...this was an explainable defeat to the greatest of champions. Genius: it does you in." – Paul Hayward, The Telegraph
"Although we tend to think of genius as something akin to magic, a kind of short-cut to mastery of the elements, it is nothing of the sort. A proper investigation of the careers of the supreme achievers, whether in sport or other fields, reveals that they are based above all on monomaniacal diligence and concentration. Constant struggle, in other words. Seen in this light, we might define genius as talent multiplied by effort." – Dominic Lawson, The Independent
Talent and innate ability vs. hard work and ‘deliberative practice’. Which is the greater and more determinative force?
Matthew Syed’s ‘Bounce’ marshals some persuasive data in support of the latter view. Drawing on his own experience as an Olympian and world class table tennis player, Syed illustrates the power of practice with flair, passion and no small amount of skill.
And yet, and yet. This book is saddled by an annoying undercurrent, one that detracts from the author’s central thesis: Syed’s inability, even in passing, to acknowledge that ineffable ‘something’ which is inseparable from world class achievement; the talent, the gift, the genetic fortuitousness that must be present for practice to feast upon. Or, phrased alternatively: those innate qualities that separate elite combatants when the level of practice is roughly equal.
Gradually, the ‘practice is everything’ line of argument becomes infuriating. Data is cherry-picked and counterexamples are ignored. To cite two examples:
“It is only possible to clock up meaningful practice if an individual has made an independent decision to devote himself to whatever field of expertise.” Syed might want to consult Andre Agassi on this one (coerced, against his wishes, into a grueling tennis upbringing by his Father).
Or that “Klein found that for chess experts the move quality hardly changed at all in blitz conditions”. Laughable, truly, for anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of high level chess.
In the end and despite its strengths (which are numerous), ‘Bounce’ exhibits many of the ‘PC’ sophisms prevalent in the present era and our discomfort with exceptionalism; the notion that, by definition, only a very small percentage of people will traverse the upper echelons of achievement, the road to which requires phenomenal levels of hard work and, yes, intrinsic ability.
How I wish Syed had consulted his own OpEd piece in The Times a few years ago:
“If every champion who has ever won at Wimbledon symbolises the shattering of 127 rival dreams, each of those also rans represent the shattering of thousands more. We talk about 10,000 hours as the minimum amount of practice time required to attain mastery, and this is a truth that I ¬strongly subscribe to. But every player here has practiced 10,000 hours, and then some. Many who didn’t quite make it have given it everything, too. All have become first-class players. The difference in standard at this level is so miniscule that it is almost impossible to perceive unless you are keeping score.
Wimbledon articulates this essential truth with rare eloquence. The small few vying for glory, the stars we cheer on Centre Court, represent the shattered dreams of thousands. And this is as it should be. It is brutal, but it is also, in its way, beautiful.”
To Bounce’s prejudice the practice always triumphs over talent, the cynic would reply the opposite: that talent always triumphs over practice. The real lesson to be learned from Bounce is that practice may not always triumph, but it sometimes does. The most valuable talent, paradoxically, might be our capacity to work breathlessly to fulfill it.
Bounce is an interesting book that paints a valuable picture. But it’s a partial picture.
What is the genesis of world class achievement in sports and other endeavours such as art?
Observers usually nominate two variables, exemplified by the following news excerpts about the 2012 Wimbledon final:
"Talent does what it can. Genius does what it must. The old Edward Bulwer-Lytton aphorism smacked Andy Murray round the head in his first Wimbledon final, his fourth in grand slam tournaments overall. Murray was as good as he could be. Federer was the master we always knew he was...this was an explainable defeat to the greatest of champions. Genius: it does you in." – Paul Hayward, The Telegraph
"Although we tend to think of genius as something akin to magic, a kind of short-cut to mastery of the elements, it is nothing of the sort. A proper investigation of the careers of the supreme achievers, whether in sport or other fields, reveals that they are based above all on monomaniacal diligence and concentration. Constant struggle, in other words. Seen in this light, we might define genius as talent multiplied by effort." – Dominic Lawson, The Independent
Talent and innate ability vs. hard work and ‘deliberative practice’. Which is the greater and more determinative force?
Matthew Syed’s ‘Bounce’ marshals some persuasive data in support of the latter view. Drawing on his own experience as an Olympian and world class table tennis player, Syed illustrates the power of practice with flair, passion and no small amount of skill.
And yet, and yet. This book is saddled by an annoying undercurrent, one that detracts from the author’s central thesis: Syed’s inability, even in passing, to acknowledge that ineffable ‘something’ which is inseparable from world class achievement; the talent, the gift, the genetic fortuitousness that must be present for practice to feast upon. Or, phrased alternatively: those innate qualities that separate elite combatants when the level of practice is roughly equal.
Gradually, the ‘practice is everything’ line of argument becomes infuriating. Data is cherry-picked and counterexamples are ignored. To cite two examples:
“It is only possible to clock up meaningful practice if an individual has made an independent decision to devote himself to whatever field of expertise.” Syed might want to consult Andre Agassi on this one (coerced, against his wishes, into a grueling tennis upbringing by his Father).
Or that “Klein found that for chess experts the move quality hardly changed at all in blitz conditions”. Laughable, truly, for anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of high level chess.
In the end and despite its strengths (which are numerous), ‘Bounce’ exhibits many of the ‘PC’ sophisms prevalent in the present era and our discomfort with exceptionalism; the notion that, by definition, only a very small percentage of people will traverse the upper echelons of achievement, the road to which requires phenomenal levels of hard work and, yes, intrinsic ability.
How I wish Syed had consulted his own OpEd piece in The Times a few years ago:
“If every champion who has ever won at Wimbledon symbolises the shattering of 127 rival dreams, each of those also rans represent the shattering of thousands more. We talk about 10,000 hours as the minimum amount of practice time required to attain mastery, and this is a truth that I ¬strongly subscribe to. But every player here has practiced 10,000 hours, and then some. Many who didn’t quite make it have given it everything, too. All have become first-class players. The difference in standard at this level is so miniscule that it is almost impossible to perceive unless you are keeping score.
Wimbledon articulates this essential truth with rare eloquence. The small few vying for glory, the stars we cheer on Centre Court, represent the shattered dreams of thousands. And this is as it should be. It is brutal, but it is also, in its way, beautiful.”
To Bounce’s prejudice the practice always triumphs over talent, the cynic would reply the opposite: that talent always triumphs over practice. The real lesson to be learned from Bounce is that practice may not always triumph, but it sometimes does. The most valuable talent, paradoxically, might be our capacity to work breathlessly to fulfill it.
Bounce is an interesting book that paints a valuable picture. But it’s a partial picture.
August 6, 2018
Unfortunately, I really didn't like this book. Seyd tries realy hard to write a story abuot success, but it ends up being somewhere between Malcolm Gladwell and Steven Pinker - success is a combination of hard work and being fortunate with the middle ground between good nature and nurture. It's hard for me not to be biased because I've read so many of these stories that they feel like they are only rehashing the ideas of others.
I don't think success is easy, but in my own life and from the stories of others, I find success to be an attitude and a mindset. Yes, success takes work and yes, success requires a convergence of opportunity, but I really don't like it when people try to give universal advice on success. It is always either general/vague or too narrow and specific. I think there are so many other works on the subject better than this book here.
I don't think success is easy, but in my own life and from the stories of others, I find success to be an attitude and a mindset. Yes, success takes work and yes, success requires a convergence of opportunity, but I really don't like it when people try to give universal advice on success. It is always either general/vague or too narrow and specific. I think there are so many other works on the subject better than this book here.
June 10, 2010
Regurgitation of Colvin and Coyle--
With a heavy spin on sports - unfortunately.
It focuses on the topic of sports without delving deep into the fascinating topic of deliberate practice and its applications in wider areas.
The first half of the book consists of direct quotes from and regurgitation of Colvin and Coyle's books and says nothing new about the alleged main subject of the book.
The only difference is that the author makes a foray into the topic of sports more than his predecessors but I found it to be interesting but impractical.
I would've liked to read more on Mozart and Picasso and less on the athletes. Although the last three chapters - sports psychology, East Germany's state-sanctioned doping, and the question of whether blacks are inherenty better runners - were interesting, they seemed to be extraneously tucked onto the book and didn't cohere all that well with the main subject of the book.
I recommend Colvin and Coyle's books, and only if you're interested in the sports angle of deliberate practice, read this. Otherwise, keep away.
With a heavy spin on sports - unfortunately.
It focuses on the topic of sports without delving deep into the fascinating topic of deliberate practice and its applications in wider areas.
The first half of the book consists of direct quotes from and regurgitation of Colvin and Coyle's books and says nothing new about the alleged main subject of the book.
The only difference is that the author makes a foray into the topic of sports more than his predecessors but I found it to be interesting but impractical.
I would've liked to read more on Mozart and Picasso and less on the athletes. Although the last three chapters - sports psychology, East Germany's state-sanctioned doping, and the question of whether blacks are inherenty better runners - were interesting, they seemed to be extraneously tucked onto the book and didn't cohere all that well with the main subject of the book.
I recommend Colvin and Coyle's books, and only if you're interested in the sports angle of deliberate practice, read this. Otherwise, keep away.
August 1, 2020
Jasně, chcete být v něčem dobří - trénujte. Kniha ale dobře rozvádí určité fenomény, které vyvrací zažité stereotypy a ustálené (chybné) myšlenkové modely. Kromě množství tréninku je samozřejmě také důležitá efektivita a motivace.
Osobně pro mě byla možná nejzajímavější právě kapitola o motivaci a jak můžete paralyzovat něčí výkon tím, že mu řeknete, že je talentovaný, nebo jak by mohla vypadat společnost, kdybychom plošně uměli už od mala lidi správně motivovat.
Čtivá kniha plná zajímavých myšlenek. (A to nejsem zrovna sportovní fanoušek.)
Osobně pro mě byla možná nejzajímavější právě kapitola o motivaci a jak můžete paralyzovat něčí výkon tím, že mu řeknete, že je talentovaný, nebo jak by mohla vypadat společnost, kdybychom plošně uměli už od mala lidi správně motivovat.
Čtivá kniha plná zajímavých myšlenek. (A to nejsem zrovna sportovní fanoušek.)
March 15, 2015
Love this book! It goes deep into the process of mastering a skill from a perspective of a world class table tennis pro who presents a mix of personal experience and scientific research. The book will teach you what form of practice actually works and what is required to achieve elite world class levels in sports, business, music, driving and pretty much anything! Besides purposeful practice the book breaks down other aspects of success such as: having quality feedback, learning from failure, environmental factors, breaking out of the comfort zone, beliefs and the powerful benefits of the placebo effect which all play a key role in achieving world class levels.
I would highly recommend this book for everyone regardless wherever you do sports, it's gonna give you a new perspective on success, talent and hard work which is vital to understand. The world is definitely decades behind science when it comes to attributing success, most people still believe that Jamaicans have special genes for sprinting, or that talent plays a key role in math or music. Definitely check out the book, you'll learn a lot!
I would highly recommend this book for everyone regardless wherever you do sports, it's gonna give you a new perspective on success, talent and hard work which is vital to understand. The world is definitely decades behind science when it comes to attributing success, most people still believe that Jamaicans have special genes for sprinting, or that talent plays a key role in math or music. Definitely check out the book, you'll learn a lot!
April 13, 2016
Bounce's 286 pages can be summed up in a sentence: Forget about talent and put in the work.
It's a smooth read, there are plenty of footnotes, and there were a few moments when I was absorbed. Despite this, I didn't learn much.
This was similar to a long conversation with one of your smarter friends who is obsessed with sports. Unfortunately, your smart friend meanders for the last third of the conversation, suddenly stands up, and tells you he has to go without any sort of conclusion or wind down.
Pleasant? Sure. Interesting? For the most part. Useful? Not really.
It's a smooth read, there are plenty of footnotes, and there were a few moments when I was absorbed. Despite this, I didn't learn much.
This was similar to a long conversation with one of your smarter friends who is obsessed with sports. Unfortunately, your smart friend meanders for the last third of the conversation, suddenly stands up, and tells you he has to go without any sort of conclusion or wind down.
Pleasant? Sure. Interesting? For the most part. Useful? Not really.
March 14, 2016
Excellent read, superstars are a result of endless hours of purposeful practice. Don't take failure personally, see it as a challenge. The placebo effect is very real, use it to your advantage.
March 6, 2025
No you’re not seeing things… I have actually read a self help book. I know I’ve reached a new low when my parents work colleagues are lending me these type of books.
But begrudgingly I did enjoy the book and learnt some useful things which I may or may not integrate into my life and mindset.
But begrudgingly I did enjoy the book and learnt some useful things which I may or may not integrate into my life and mindset.
December 29, 2017
Really great audio book.
For anyone interested it sports psychology it must be the most
interesting book on the subject.
For anyone interested it sports psychology it must be the most
interesting book on the subject.
October 2, 2015
It all comes down to this: Nature VS Nurture.
צפו בסיקור בוידאו! :-)
In the everlasting fight between Nature and Nurture, Matthew
proves that it's not GENES that determines success, no, it's what
you DO with what you have and how strongly you want
it, that makes you a success.
Matthew starts off with examples from his career as a table tennis champion.
He explain that opportunities, determination, passion and
a lot of time was the factor that has distinguished him from other
table-tennis players, not talent or nature, but willingness to do the hard work.
Then he continues with the benifits Nurture has on Nature by suggesting
that after a while, previously impossible actions are now ingrained
in ones capabilities thus, appears he naturally gifted.
But what the crowd see is the present moment, he explains, and not all the falls and hard work in the past. If they could have seen it - Talent was out of the dictionary.
But what about prodigies? twelve year olds like Mozart, who do amazing
things? surely they didn't have years of practice!
It appears that someone have gone out of his ways to prove that
prodigies, are not born, they are MADE. In 1967 a
an eduational psycologist, named Laszlo Polgar, decided to make a chess
grandmaster in order prove to the world that it's not Nature
but Nurture that matters. He himself didn't have a clue about Chess, neither his wife. And so he had started studying Chess and when his first daughter, Susan, was born, she was so fascinated by the Chess pieces that her father was playing, and quickly
learned the rules and tactics - with great pleasure and fun. Soon enough
two more daughters were born and the three of them Susan, Sofia and Judit,
would play more than ten thousand hours of Chess, before thier
fourteen's birthday. Did it work?
Susan
Sofia
Judit
Amazingly enough IT DID WORK: Nurture HAS beaten Nature.
In the next chapters, Matthew spens some time to make important
points about racism : Why blacks are considered superior runners?
And he proves again that it's not Nature but Nurture, he also
shows that in a DNA perspective, color is like a different computer
case and nothing more! We are all the same inside.
In the last chapters, he talks about drugs in sports and the future
of menkind.
An engrossing book, I couldn't put it down even when it went a little
off topic. In the end it was all about the Myth of Talent and
it's dangers: hindering people from achieving their goals, jealousy
and racism. This book provides a different approach than talent - the growth mindset.
צפו בסיקור בוידאו! :-)
Highly recommended if you are interested in learning how the mind works - how success works.
צפו בסיקור בוידאו! :-)
In the everlasting fight between Nature and Nurture, Matthew
proves that it's not GENES that determines success, no, it's what
you DO with what you have and how strongly you want
it, that makes you a success.
Matthew starts off with examples from his career as a table tennis champion.
He explain that opportunities, determination, passion and
a lot of time was the factor that has distinguished him from other
table-tennis players, not talent or nature, but willingness to do the hard work.
Then he continues with the benifits Nurture has on Nature by suggesting
that after a while, previously impossible actions are now ingrained
in ones capabilities thus, appears he naturally gifted.
But what the crowd see is the present moment, he explains, and not all the falls and hard work in the past. If they could have seen it - Talent was out of the dictionary.
But what about prodigies? twelve year olds like Mozart, who do amazing
things? surely they didn't have years of practice!
It appears that someone have gone out of his ways to prove that
prodigies, are not born, they are MADE. In 1967 a
an eduational psycologist, named Laszlo Polgar, decided to make a chess
grandmaster in order prove to the world that it's not Nature
but Nurture that matters. He himself didn't have a clue about Chess, neither his wife. And so he had started studying Chess and when his first daughter, Susan, was born, she was so fascinated by the Chess pieces that her father was playing, and quickly
learned the rules and tactics - with great pleasure and fun. Soon enough
two more daughters were born and the three of them Susan, Sofia and Judit,
would play more than ten thousand hours of Chess, before thier
fourteen's birthday. Did it work?
Susan
Sofia
Judit
Amazingly enough IT DID WORK: Nurture HAS beaten Nature.
In the next chapters, Matthew spens some time to make important
points about racism : Why blacks are considered superior runners?
And he proves again that it's not Nature but Nurture, he also
shows that in a DNA perspective, color is like a different computer
case and nothing more! We are all the same inside.
In the last chapters, he talks about drugs in sports and the future
of menkind.
An engrossing book, I couldn't put it down even when it went a little
off topic. In the end it was all about the Myth of Talent and
it's dangers: hindering people from achieving their goals, jealousy
and racism. This book provides a different approach than talent - the growth mindset.
צפו בסיקור בוידאו! :-)
Highly recommended if you are interested in learning how the mind works - how success works.
May 12, 2012
For such a short & fast read, I have a lot to say about this book. Not because the book demands or merits superabundance of personal thought, but because it touched on a few topics which I spend a great deal of thought on anyways.
Part I - I wish this was the entirety of the book. If it were, I would recommend it to every professional person, athlete, artist and student. In summary: You can achieve success in any discipline if you make it happen for yourself and put in sufficient, structured, quality time (roughly, 10,000 hours) in pursuit of excellence within that discipline. Of course there are thresholds for some disciplines - I cannot be an NBA star (gender & lack of height) - but still, recent scientific studies support the claim that talent is a myth.
He says, our superstars are NOT born with talent OR a privileged biological destiny OR superior capacity to achieve (my phrasing). Instead, they are a product of +10,000 of work and usually born into superior circumstances (e.g. Wolfgang A. Mozart was born to Leopold Mozart, who had extensive & credible musical background and enforced extensive training with his children during a time when most children weren't regularly exposed to music). Because of their superior circumstances, our heros developed a lifetime of habits which beget success in a particular discipline. Anyone can build these habits for themselves.
Parts II & III - in a word: "meh."
Oh, and: "end of honeymoon phase." Frankly, I was put off by Syed's introduction of the placebo effect. He describes two athletes of religious belief, one Christian, one Muslim. Without ceremony Syed calls their beliefs false. This was an adjective used in passing, but I cannot let it go. I understand that the majority of pop culture writers probably fall into the Dawkins camp, but when they exhibit a deficit of consideration, I lose respect for their entire profile as a writer. The scope of the book does not include theological statements, so don't make one. I had to quickly re-assess the book; it's a "non-academic," pop-psych book. Shame on me for not realizing it sooner.
After Part I, Syed's largely anecdotal structure becomes tired. Too many flowery descriptions about athletes' lives and I wasn't nearly as intrigued by the conclusions. They were mostly just a spinning out of the points he made in the first part. I would've restructured the book to fit the theses of parts II and III into part I.
None of the hard research was conducted by Syed himself. It is nice that he included the summaries of major studies since I hadn't yet been exposed to most of them. Overall, I'm glad the book exists, it was a pleasure to read and meditate on. However, I would've preferred to listen to a TED Talk by one of the researchers whose studies he cited.
Part I - I wish this was the entirety of the book. If it were, I would recommend it to every professional person, athlete, artist and student. In summary: You can achieve success in any discipline if you make it happen for yourself and put in sufficient, structured, quality time (roughly, 10,000 hours) in pursuit of excellence within that discipline. Of course there are thresholds for some disciplines - I cannot be an NBA star (gender & lack of height) - but still, recent scientific studies support the claim that talent is a myth.
He says, our superstars are NOT born with talent OR a privileged biological destiny OR superior capacity to achieve (my phrasing). Instead, they are a product of +10,000 of work and usually born into superior circumstances (e.g. Wolfgang A. Mozart was born to Leopold Mozart, who had extensive & credible musical background and enforced extensive training with his children during a time when most children weren't regularly exposed to music). Because of their superior circumstances, our heros developed a lifetime of habits which beget success in a particular discipline. Anyone can build these habits for themselves.
Parts II & III - in a word: "meh."
Oh, and: "end of honeymoon phase." Frankly, I was put off by Syed's introduction of the placebo effect. He describes two athletes of religious belief, one Christian, one Muslim. Without ceremony Syed calls their beliefs false. This was an adjective used in passing, but I cannot let it go. I understand that the majority of pop culture writers probably fall into the Dawkins camp, but when they exhibit a deficit of consideration, I lose respect for their entire profile as a writer. The scope of the book does not include theological statements, so don't make one. I had to quickly re-assess the book; it's a "non-academic," pop-psych book. Shame on me for not realizing it sooner.
After Part I, Syed's largely anecdotal structure becomes tired. Too many flowery descriptions about athletes' lives and I wasn't nearly as intrigued by the conclusions. They were mostly just a spinning out of the points he made in the first part. I would've restructured the book to fit the theses of parts II and III into part I.
None of the hard research was conducted by Syed himself. It is nice that he included the summaries of major studies since I hadn't yet been exposed to most of them. Overall, I'm glad the book exists, it was a pleasure to read and meditate on. However, I would've preferred to listen to a TED Talk by one of the researchers whose studies he cited.
January 21, 2013
Syed took a lot of research carried out in the field of success, especially success in sports, and compiled it into a very readable book which is all the more interesting because its author isn't a scientist, but someone who has put the science he writes about to use: He's a Table Tennis Olympian. Syed's writing style is clear and enthusiastic, and he has a lot of personal experience to brighten up the hard facts. There's a lot of eye-opening and downright useful information in the book. It's also heartening to read not only about the successes of the successful, but also their failures, and why they happened.
For most of the book Syed hammers home a fairly simple message, backed up by studious research, that success is much less a matter of genes, and far more the result of hard work, focused training, and understanding what it is that makes us tick. If we can master ourselves, we can master anything. No matter which side of the nature/nurture argument you fall on, it's good advice for self-help or bringing up kids, and not just in sport but any field. Syed opens our eyes to the accepted wisdom of the talent mindset, where only the naturally talented succeed, and shows us how behind every naturally talented individual is years and years of effort. About ten years seems to be the magic number.
For most of the book Syed hammers home a fairly simple message, backed up by studious research, that success is much less a matter of genes, and far more the result of hard work, focused training, and understanding what it is that makes us tick. If we can master ourselves, we can master anything. No matter which side of the nature/nurture argument you fall on, it's good advice for self-help or bringing up kids, and not just in sport but any field. Syed opens our eyes to the accepted wisdom of the talent mindset, where only the naturally talented succeed, and shows us how behind every naturally talented individual is years and years of effort. About ten years seems to be the magic number.
February 8, 2017
A great book – should be compulsory reading all parents and teachers. It has changed the way I think about encouraging my children and work teammates – praising their efforts and hard work rather than their innate "skill". As an advisor to owner- managed businesses, I see the 10,000 hour/10 year experience rule being lived out in many ways. For example most professionals spend their 20s and early 30s mastering the technical aspects of their profession, and the next decade mastering management and business skills so that by the mid to late 40s they are at the height of their powers. This book could be called The T-Myth (with apologies to Michael Gerber, author of The E-Myth)- the T standing for talent of course. It explains in scientific terms of some of the principles set out by Gerber in his book and it has helped me to understand why some of my most successful clients have done so well, often after years of struggling and learning from their mistakes (i.e. "purposeful practice" in Syed's words).
The second half of the book takes in other areas affecting performance, e.g. the placebo effect, avoiding "choking", drug use in sport and the final explains the apparent superiority of black runners in a very insightful way, showing how easily we fall prey to flawed generalisations.
The second half of the book takes in other areas affecting performance, e.g. the placebo effect, avoiding "choking", drug use in sport and the final explains the apparent superiority of black runners in a very insightful way, showing how easily we fall prey to flawed generalisations.
February 11, 2012
This book redefined the way I think about talent. It breaks it down and shows how talent is derivative of countless hours of practice. In fact, with only 10,000 hours of purposeful practice you, me, or anyone can become an expert/master in whichever field they choose. Whether it's chess, archery, figure skating, or capoeira. hehe. All that practice puts the complicated processes into implicit memory. Your muscles begin to work automatically, freeing your brain to focus on expert maneuvers.
The book also inspired me, if anyone can succeed in what they do as long as they put in plenty of hard work, than I can definitely do so to play better in capoeira. :) It's not about talent. Talent comes from those invisible hours of practice that you didn't see the individual do. People say, Oh, Tiger Woods was born to play golf. No, he mastered golf because his father started training him at an early age, and he repeatedly did the same difficult shots over and over, hours on end.
I definitely recommend it. I mean, changing my whole thought process and all. hehe, the book definitely took effect.
The book also inspired me, if anyone can succeed in what they do as long as they put in plenty of hard work, than I can definitely do so to play better in capoeira. :) It's not about talent. Talent comes from those invisible hours of practice that you didn't see the individual do. People say, Oh, Tiger Woods was born to play golf. No, he mastered golf because his father started training him at an early age, and he repeatedly did the same difficult shots over and over, hours on end.
I definitely recommend it. I mean, changing my whole thought process and all. hehe, the book definitely took effect.
October 7, 2014
This book covers a lot of areas, same research that you'd find in other books like Outliers, Talent is Overrated, etc. but still found it a really good read. The author is an athlete (tabletop tennis Olympian), details how hard work, purposeful practice and incredible amount of time (and luck that he had a regulation tabletop in his house) contributed to his own success.
He covers familiar territory discrediting the talent myth, but also goes into how the talent myth can actually impede success (if I'm not naturally good at it, why try?). He also goes into some areas in the end that was more sports-centric, which at first I didn't find that interesting but he turned me around. Primarily talking about steroid/performance enhancements in sports - which I thought was a bit of a tangent at first, but raised good questions and for the first time actually got me interested in the issue (not a sports guy). He also talks about myths and self-fulfilling prophecies around race and athletics that was extremely informative and also got me thinking about the issue in a new light.
Definitely recommend!
He covers familiar territory discrediting the talent myth, but also goes into how the talent myth can actually impede success (if I'm not naturally good at it, why try?). He also goes into some areas in the end that was more sports-centric, which at first I didn't find that interesting but he turned me around. Primarily talking about steroid/performance enhancements in sports - which I thought was a bit of a tangent at first, but raised good questions and for the first time actually got me interested in the issue (not a sports guy). He also talks about myths and self-fulfilling prophecies around race and athletics that was extremely informative and also got me thinking about the issue in a new light.
Definitely recommend!
August 27, 2015
In this book Mathew Syed tried to explain the practice theory of excellence with some great examples. This book contains three parts The Talent Myth, Paradoxes of the Mind and Deep Reflections. The key to supreme performance is not natural born talent but purposeful practice. He back up this theory with stories of some of the finest sports personalities like Tiger Woods, Williams Sisters, David Beckham and Polgar Sisters. He also discuss about the influence of athlete's personal belief on their performance. He narrated some stories about a few superstitious athletes, it sounds funny but it is true that it actually boost their confidence to increase their level of performance. Syed's well setup theories and arguments make this book really interesting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 1, 2016
I've started reading this book several weeks ago and quickly went into a reading hiatus. I don't usually do this and I keep on reading a book until the bitter end even though I don't really like it but in this case it's time to call it quits. Why? This book is borrowing heavily -the author calls it research- from books like Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and the Talent Code by Daniel Coyle to the extent that one who already read them feels that this is only a rewritten regurgitation. I, for one, am in no need for such redundant information.
October 23, 2017
I couldn't write a small review. There are some many takeaways that you can get from this book that I had to write an entire post! Or, maybe I'm too talkative :). Thing is, if I had to write this review in a super summarized way, I'd say: The major takeaway for me was to learn that we should praise effort, not talent - this totally makes sense. That failures are opportunities to learn, and that abilities can be transformed through applications. (my complete review here).
January 26, 2020
The first quarter of this book gets off to a good start; ultimately, however, it becomes more of a litany about athletes and their achievements rather than focusing on deliberate practice, and its role in world class performance (over "innate talent")
I also felt the author was cherry picking data and anecdotes, without a balanced view of outliers or opposing evidence.
One of those books that could've been a longform essay.
I also felt the author was cherry picking data and anecdotes, without a balanced view of outliers or opposing evidence.
One of those books that could've been a longform essay.
March 2, 2022
Plenty of good insights to drive home the point that success is obtainable by anyone. Nice quick read, cites Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell quite a bit in the early chapters and referenced many concepts I learned about in my first year psych class.
December 14, 2025
Los primeros dos tercios de este libro fueron una buena y simple manera de explicar el valor del trabajo duro y la resiliencia en el deporte. El autor comunica sus ideas centrales con ejemplos que la audiencia puede identificar fácilmente.
Lastimosamente, los últimos dos capítulos del libro pierden toda la veracidad científica y se convierten en una columna de opinión para el autor, que claramente no tiene ni la experiencia ni los conocimientos para hablar de esos temas. Sus argumentos son superficiales y llenos de contradicciones. Geniunamnete siento que el autor terminó el libro después de 8 capítulos y le dijeron que tenía que escribir 10, así que recurrió a escribir sobre un tema totalmente diferente y sin bases lógicas. Una lastima que haya tal desconexión al final del libro, ya que deja un mal sabor de boca después del buen principio.
Lastimosamente, los últimos dos capítulos del libro pierden toda la veracidad científica y se convierten en una columna de opinión para el autor, que claramente no tiene ni la experiencia ni los conocimientos para hablar de esos temas. Sus argumentos son superficiales y llenos de contradicciones. Geniunamnete siento que el autor terminó el libro después de 8 capítulos y le dijeron que tenía que escribir 10, así que recurrió a escribir sobre un tema totalmente diferente y sin bases lógicas. Una lastima que haya tal desconexión al final del libro, ya que deja un mal sabor de boca después del buen principio.
November 30, 2017
Another book on the science of mastery and high performance. Matthew Syed expounds on principles that have been repeated in earlier works like The Talent Code and Outliers. What I like about his version is that he discusses themes like "choking" and placebo effects that are - but not exclusively - seen in sports. Worth a read if you have not gone through other books on skill improvement or just for the chapters on the aforementioned themes.
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