I believe in "talent".

The way the brain is developed, neuronal pools interact and are "wired" throughout childhood and can conceivably influence how easy it is for someone to perform a certain task or cognitive function.

For example, your mother/father/nanny played a lot of music for you in your infancy and toddler years. You may develop a keen ear for music, or perhaps you spontaneously started dancing and have excellent rhythm and become a dancer later in life.

Someone that picks up these interest later in life, well after the brain has been "hard-wired", will not be able achieve the same results as you as easily. They certainly can become great musicians or dancers through hard work and effort. But they will envy your "natural talent" for music, dancing, whatever.

You look at people like Mozart, Tiger Woods and people of their ilk. They are trained from birth, groomed to excel in their given fields, and they did so. Yes, with hard work, no doubt, but no one can doubt that they made it look incredibly easy, effortless even, because their "talent", or neuronal "wiring" lends them such an enormous advantage.

Those with a "talent" for a certain skill or cognitive function, I believe, will also have a higher "ceiling". Hard work can take you far, but not as far as someone that has both worked hard, and has enormous amounts of natural talent.

I agree with Nathan in that I reject the idea that someone can do something to the highest level of excellence without hard work. But "talent" exists in my opinion.



I would personally love to talk and talk and jibber jabber all day long. Unfortunately, the only time someone wants to do that is if it's a bunch of boring and pointless subjects. I once talked for hours about one of my passions with a work associate. And we never dipped into the weather or small talk nonsense. We just kept going and going like that stupid bunny. Imagine a world of INTJ's who talked to each other about relevant and interesting subjects all the time. Would that make us extroverted or would we just be a bunch of super comfy introverts?


TOP TEN MYTHS ABOUT INTROVERTS

Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.
This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.

Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.
Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.
Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.

Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.
On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.

Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.
Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.

Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.
Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.
Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.
Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.
Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.
Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.