The field of psychology has done a remarkable job discovering the ways people differ from one another in their abilities and talents, but has long neglected the diverse ways people can unleash those capacities. There is no plausible mechanism by which our genes directly encode skills like how to dribble a basketball, play the violin, or solve an algebraic equation. We are not born knowing how to write a sonnet or flip an omelet. On the contrary, all human expertise-even at the far-right tail of the distribution-depends on experience and training. A more accurate understanding of the development of high achievement should inspire people to push beyond their perceived and often self-imposed limits to reach heights they never would have imagined possible. WIREs Cogn Sci 2017, 8:e1365. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1365 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
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