In "Consolation for Difficulties", Nietzsche talks about how calling people "gifted" and an "inborn talent" can be a problem.
"Don't talk about giftedness, inborn talents! Once can name all kinds of great men who were not very gifted. They ACQUIRED greatness, became 'geniuses' through qualities about whose lack no man aware of them likes to speak..."
Telling people that they were born a "genius" can cause a few problems:
1. The "inborn geniuses" could be praised so much to the fact that they really believe it, stop trying harder to improve, and limit their abilities.
2. It could cause a person to boast about their talents when in reality, they may not even be that good.
3. More people are going to think that you need to be born with a certain talent in order to accomplish specific goals.
4. It can cause people to give up more easily.
People like Beyonce and Lebron James are some of the most successful people in the world. It took a lot of hard work and practice to get to where they are. There are interviews and clips of them talking about how much work they put into what they do. The success, fame, love, and money doesn't just come naturally.
It is easy to think that those people are born that way naturally and get discouraged. It is very important to know that motivation and hard work is key when it comes to achievement.
I found this topic interesting when discussing it in class. I do believe that talent comes from those who work hard for it. Simply saying "I was born talented" and actually showing your talent are two different things. Its important we recognize this and remember to work hard to achieve the things we want to achieve.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely an interesting topic to consider. All the points you made are true and should definitely be taken into consideration when addressing any possible prodigy. It is, however, a fact that some people are predisposed to be better at a certain thing than everyone else. Some people may take being “naturally skilled” at something as a challenge, where they work hard to hone their skills because they want to be the best at said skill, knowing they have a sort of head start in the matter. A gifted individual may even take offense to being called gifted and could decide to work harder to prove to people that it’s self-made. Of course, not everyone will react like this, so using a more conservative approach may be the safest route to take. This is why the above points hold precedent. It’s likely a person could react positively to being called a “genius”, but it is just as likely, if not more, that they’ll react negatively.
ReplyDeleteThis is a way to put these ideas into perspective for the class! It is good for people to be encouraged to do their best, and for them to be praised when they do good work. However, they should not be made to think that they are some great being. This mentality makes for a weak society that is not capable of coping when things do not go their way and, even worse, people who are in this situation will stop striving to become better. If we simply acknowledge the good works of others instead of glorifying them, we will create an environment in which everyone is encouraged to do better, and less are convinced that they do not need to attempt to do better.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great summary of Nietzsche's arguments. However, I think David makes a good point that Nietzsche fails to address in his philosophy. Some people truly are more gifted at certain skills than most, and they can't always see it in themselves. For instance, as a swimmer, it's important to swim the strokes correctly, and we are always improving our technique. But being in the water and "feeling" is much different than what the coaches see from the pool deck. When I first swam butterfly, I hated it -- it's arguably the hardest stroke and takes an incredible amount of energy compared to the others. I was determined to avoid it at all costs, but coaches telling me that I was naturally gifted at it gave me the motivation to keep swimming the stroke and try to improve. So yes, the points above hold true as a general principle, but with people you have closer ties to, it's important to familiarize yourself with their personality before you assume that withholding compliments about their talents will help them practice and work harder.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post about the dangers of just flippantly throwing around being "born" with something! Though I agree that some may be naturally predisposed to talents, it is dangerous to praise them too much for these things. I agree that it can limit the work they put or make where someone who may be passionate but might not be great yet, afraid to try. Discounting it to natural talent also fails to recognize the hard work put in. Success may seem to happen "overnight" but to the people working tirelessly to get there, I am sure it does not feel overnight. It is important to recognize this so people still have motivation to work but it is not always a bad thing to give people the appropriate amount of praise for an achievement as encouragement can also bring about motivation.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post about the dangers of just flippantly throwing around being "born" with something! Though I agree that some may be naturally predisposed to talents, it is dangerous to praise them too much for these things. I agree that it can limit the work they put or make where someone who may be passionate but might not be great yet, afraid to try. Discounting it to natural talent also fails to recognize the hard work put in. Success may seem to happen "overnight" but to the people working tirelessly to get there, I am sure it does not feel overnight. It is important to recognize this so people still have motivation to work but it is not always a bad thing to give people the appropriate amount of praise for an achievement as encouragement can also bring about motivation.
ReplyDelete