Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/10/29
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>Most of us are average blokes with no *real* talents. We may be >good at something, but that's usually because we enjoy it and put >some time at it. That's not a put down to the population, at large. >That's the way I think it should be. True talent should be rare! I don't see it that way. I think a lot of people just don't find what they are capable of. We sit around in our mediocre lives, going the "easy route" way too often. We never challenge ourselves to reach heights. We rarely seek out new experiences that will stretch us. We too often believe the "man." The one who tells us we're not worth much. That we can't do what we want. I had a teacher in sixth grade who did me no good - for years after - making me think I was bad at math. I was a quiet little guy who never spoke up, or said boo to my teachers, I just accepted it. (Can you believe that?) I found out my senior year in high school he screwed up. My grades went from Cs to As overnight. On the other hand, true genius is rare, and will always be. That's a whole lot different than the word talent as I understand it. I suspect that talent is more related to passion than to genes. If you really care about photography, and immerse yourself in it, I suspect you might become pretty good. With a LOT of hard work. Unless your a...genius? Some savants can play Beethoven without practicing. Who wants the life they have outside of the scope of their one capability? Not me. I'll take talent over some types of genius any day for sure. Of course, talent comes in an infinite variety. ;-) - -- Eric Welch St. Joseph, MO http://www.ponyexpress.net/~ewelch It is of interest to note that while some dolphins are reported to have learned English...no human being has been reported to have learned dolphinese. Carl Sagan