Is natural talent a real thing? Are human beings fundamentally different in that some are born with special capabilities, and others just aren’t? How are very high levels of performance attained? And how would the answer to these questions impact who receives access to limited resources? These are a few of the questions that Karl Ericsson has been researching for almost 40 years now. Ericsson joins the podcast to talk about a number of topics in this field of research, including child “prodigies,” possible hallmarks of continuous success from childhood into adulthood in a particular domain, savants, in what ways certain abilities might actually be “natural” (or not), and the lack of overall evidence suggesting that genetics play a role in high levels of performance. On today’s podcast, you will discover: How purposeful or deliberate practice differs in significant ways from simply “putting in the hours” Why it can be hard to find a good measure of current performance and how to become more successful Learning methods and techniques that foster better performance in different fields Press play for the full conversation, and check out Ericsson’s book, Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise.