Talent to me, is something that you're naturally good at.
When someone is talented at something, it takes them less time to pick it up or do awesome in.

But I believe with the Buddhist view. Is that there are many lives.
And so if we're talented at something it means we've practiced a lot in previous lives.
So short term speaking looking at one life time, we didn't have to learn it.
But long term speaking, we did learn it at some point in previous lives and now if we're introduced to it again in present life we have an easier time with it.

I don't really believe in the one life time and then go to hell or heaven because it just seems so unfair for some people, some are born with all the riches and talents. while some are born with missing limbs or terminal illnesses...
The karma built up from previous lives makes sense to me on why we're different because of free will choosing from previous lives.
It's like if we were able to compress one life time into a single day. Then if you spent your previous day making spring rolls, it would seem like you have talent at making spring rolls the day after even though you haven't made any spring rolls in the day after... if we were able to forget our days after a good night sleep.
This is just my personal view/belief.

I enjoyed that Wallace.

Wallace - yes there has to be an explanation for 'innate talent' and hopefully it would address why I was 'so talented' at school in some subjects but 'absolutely hopeless' at others!!

Trandoductin - I realy like your philosophical explanation, especially as my son is soon to be inducted as a Buddhist monk.

I agree.

Buddhist monk? I wish him great karmic seeds!
I think being a monk is too challenging for me... I just take the easy route of pure land Buddhists and chant Amida's name before bed time or when i am driving alone... hopefully i get reborn in pure land and continue my practice there...if not maybe chanting will plant seeds which will bring me to being a monk in future life times.

Personally I disagree with the concept of "innate talent". Short of having some physical or mental handicap anyone can train to do pretty much anything.

Does some people have some genetic advantages that make them more suitable for particular tasks? I think it may be possible on a more generic level - some brains may favor symbol manipulation over image recognition or 3D space cognition etc. But in my view, those changes will only help towards what you find fun to play with and enjoy - everything else comes down to practice.

"Geniuses" practice their skills a lot - their eventual "innate" brain advantage would mean nothing if it was not combined with fierce determination and the ability/willingness/pressure to train long and hard every day, often from a young age. For the rest of us, when we are children we find various things fun - and when we find things fun they tend to be things we enjoy practicing as part of our play. This includes everything from art to mathematics.

For example, almost all young children enjoy drawing and painting - it's a part of learning hand-eye coordination and exploring/expressing their inner lives. Research tells us that around the age of 11-12, children go into a phase where they for the first time become more self-aware and self-critical. At this point they often want "realism" in their art. To do that you need to train - perspective is for example seldomly intuitive unless you practice. Thing is that this is also a time when the child is at its most sensitive. Any small art-critique from adults or other children can completely ruin a child's self-confidence at this age. And thus it's sadly common that the child says "I can't draw!" and don't think it's fun anymore. And thus we get adults that draw like 12-year olds. Not because they are bad at art but because they haven't practiced since that time.

I wouldn't reply to this thread if I was not mentioned in the first post. I've painted regularly for 30+ years. There is nothing "innate" there - I've gone through all the phases and done all the newbie mistakes (still do at times). I've just done more practicing than most. But that also means I've also done a lot less practicing than the professionals who have attended art schools and do art as part of their job.

Some seem to use the term "talent" as if it's something magical - something that some people just have and others do not. This view hampers development and blocks people from trying new things. It also disregards the hard work and practice that has led a person to the point of skill they currently have.
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Griatch

I can't argue with that. You explained your point perfectly.
Thanks Griatch, for taking the time to reply.

I have personally never believed in innate talent. I loved art and music so much that I played with them and practiced them a lot and as a result I got better and better. Many people believe I am talented but it is just a matter of being interested enough to learn something. People who believe they have no talent have simply given up too soon, either through not loving the activity enough or through lack of confidence. In some cases there might be an obstacle such as a mindset or perhaps something neurological that makes things difficult but for most people..."All You Need Is Love"

Well said Erisian.

at this point i just had to log in even if i wasn't supposed to! this is just such an interesting discussion and something i've thought more about than ever after joining gc and following the members' development. i agree with griatch and erisian - i do think our concept of "talent" is exaggerated and maybe even harmful as i can see people give up on themselves and their dreams too soon. but on the other hand, i also believe there are qualities we come with at birth that just make us "right" for certain tasks and "wrong" for others. i think that maybe could be called talent? i'm not saying that we can't learn and develop in the fields we are "wrong" for, but that we will have a very hard life if we for example have a job within that field. it will take its toll on us andwe'd be better off choosing a proffession within a field we are "right" for.
i also think we should stop tagging children with words like "talented" or "creative". it'll b easier for them if we leave them to learn and develop in peace and find their own limitations - it's perfectly possible to encourage them in what they do without defining what they are, but we but we seem to forget that all the time!

AnMaaaaaaaaalllllllllll!!! We Miss you! T.T

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About talent.
I believe talent exists, but there is a difference between talent and skills.
A person can be very talented but unskilled. Example, you can have somebody who can replay any song be ear and that is a gift or talent, but they have no clue how to read or write music, nor what any of the keys are on the piano. Those are skills. Now if that person learns those skills coupled with their talent they will most likely excel just by having the knowledge even if they won't use that knowledge directly.

Though neither one can be concidered a pro you can use me and my brother. We both grew up drawing, he drew what he could see and I drew from imagination. My brother (and I suppose for sake of argument) I could draw okay, but I was "behind" if you compared us by age. I kept at it he stopped for a couple of years, I watched how to draw videos, got books, experimented with stuff and I excelled in my style while his style is at a stand still. He started up again recently and his artwork is still beautiful (and if you saw it I'd argue better than mine) but he doesn't have the same level of skills because I've done it "longer" he's a older than me so he does have years on me but he's spent more time dedicated to drumming than drawing so it balanced out. So in the end I have more skills and knowledge than he does, but his stuff looks better than mine because he was born with more talent. Talent vs Skills.

A person CAN be good at something they're not naturally good at, if they want to do it bad enough, but it's a skill and not a talent. Kinda like sports, one kid is naturally be good at running and throwing the other has to work at it but both can get on the team.

You both have very interesting points of view.
Thanks for replying.

Being able to play a song by ear is straightforward logic. The musical scale is as mathematical as 1+1=2. People who appear to have a "talent" for something probably have a personality trait that has attracted them to it at an early age and they have simply learned through practice like the rest of us. Ask yourself this: a new born baby doesn't have any talents - only instincts, so at which age does "talent" suddenly appear and what makes it appear?

Moko - your brother's work might look "better" because he practiced drawing from life at an early age.

Having said all of this though, I am reminded of certain very rare individuals who stand out in their childhood, and although they had to work at their ability, they developed very well and very fast. However, I still believe that for most of us, love and effort are the only way.