IF you think your children are talented or gifted, forget it. Talent is over-rated and we under-estimate the impact of opportunity, motivation, practice and hard work. In fact, by praising your children’s intelligence you could be doing them more harm than good!
The 'talent myth' is exploded in a truly facsinating book called Bounce, by award-winning writer and three-time Commonwealth table-tennis champion Mattew Syed. He pulls together research in psychology, economics, education, neuroscience and human biology and delivers it in a totally compelling way.
This is one of those must-read books that makes you "wow" out loud and gets you thinking hard and talking about it to everyone around you. It was described as “the most important book I’ve read over the past six months” (okay, let’s hope he reads lots of books) by Peter Orszag, who is a distinguished economist and former member of Obama’s cabinet.
Mark Thomas – Professor of Evolutionary Genetics at University College London, said “Read this book now – before it’s too late. There are no excuses.” We agree – it’s for parents, business leaders, HR professionals, sports coaches… you and me.
Are black runners really naturally faster? How did one family produce three of the best chess players of all time? Why did one small street produce more top table tennis players than the rest of Britain put together? Did our obsession with talent over hard work cause the collapse of Enron? Why do some children try harder than others? Why do some people thrive under pressure when others choke?
