Anders Ericsson, a cognitive psychologist who demystified how expertise is acquired, suggesting that anyone can become a grand chess master, a concert violinist or an Olympic athlete with the proper training and the will, died on June 17 at his home in Tallahassee, Fla. His wife, Natalie Sachs-Ericsson, said the likely cause was a blood clot to his heart or brain. He and two colleagues divided music students into three groups: those who had the chops to be world-class performers, those who were very good and those who planned to become music teachers. Professor Ericsson discovered that what separated the violinists’ skill levels was not natural-born talent but the hours of practice they had logged since childhood. The future teachers registered around 4,000 hours, the very good violinists 8,000 and the elite performers more than 10,000 hours.

Source: New York Times July 01, 2020 17:03 UTC