genius

the death of genius
here's a link to a New Scientist article, [|how to be a genius] (Sep 16, 2006 - thanks arti)

it is saying that: 1) hard work, focused effort (effortful study), is most important 2) supportive environment, mentoring is also very important 3) natural ability (genetics) has some importance but is not so important as the first two

I think the section in the article about environment, encouragement and mentoring is important. We can't actually force anyone to work hard but we can help build supportive environments that might encourage this to happen. The Chinese writer Lu Hsun pointed out that beautiful flowers require good soil:

//"Study so intense requires resources - time and space to work, teachers to mentor - and the subjects of Bloom's study, like most elite performers, almost invariably enjoyed plentiful support in their formative years. Bloom, in fact, came to see great talent as less an individual trait than a creation of environment and encouragement. "We were looking for exceptional kids," he said, "and what we found were exceptional conditions." He was intrigued to find that few of the study's subjects had shown special promise when they first took up the fields they later excelled in, and most harboured no early ambition for stellar achievement. Rather, they were encouraged as children in a general way to explore and learn, then supported in more focused ways as they began to develop an area they particularly liked. Another retrospective study, of leading scientists, similarly found that most came from homes where learning was revered for its own sake.//

//Finally, most retrospective studies, including Bloom's, have found that almost all high achievers were blessed with at least one crucial mentor as they neared maturity. When Subotnik looked at music students at New York's elite Juilliard School and winners of the high-school-level Westinghouse Science Talent Search, he found that the Juilliard students generally realised their potential more fully because they had one-on-one relationships with mentors who prepared them for the challenges they would face after their studies ended. Most of the Westinghouse winners, on the other hand, went on to colleges where they failed to find mentors to nurture their talent and guide them through rough spots. Only half ended up pursuing science, and few of them with distinction."//

As well as chunking (grouping details and concepts into patterns) the article also suggests there is something else involved:

//"Apart from chunking, the elite also learn to identify quickly which bits of information in a changing situation to store in working memory so that they can use them later. This lets them create a continually updated mental model far more complex than that used by someone less practised, allowing them to see subtler dynamics and deeper relationships."//

This reminds me of Papert's principle, mentioned in Minsky's book, //Society of Mind// (10.4):

//"Some of the most crucial steps in mental growth are based not simply on acquiring new skills, but on acquiring new administrative ways to use what one already knows"//

Book-in-progress, "[|The Genius In All of Us: Nature, Nurture and the New Science of Talent and Giftedness]."//a new,// __//third//__ __//way//__ //to understand talent, giftedness, and extraordinary achievement.... research that fleshes out this new way of understanding the source of greatness//"

more on the importance of effortful or deliberate study
minimal guidance during instruction can work [|immersion plus fours]