March 17, 2007

the little engine that could had it right

This article on memory and the minds of experts is intriguing for a number of reasons, and I encourage you to check out the full article here. However, the bit I found most relevant is as follows:

“Thus, motivation appears to be a more important factor than innate ability in the development of expertise.”
– Phillip E. Ross

Of course, there’s a motivation for any person to want to believe that expertise (and Ross is referring to performance, not just “knowledge”) is related to effort and I recommend a healthy dose of cynicism when people come up with conclusions which are in their best interest.

No Comments

  1. Interesting article. I agree that motivation has a lot to do with the development of expertise.

    Comment by Karen — March 19, 2007 @ 4:04 pm

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