How To Identify Talent

Or in other words, how do you tell if you are talented in a particular area?  Unlike many scientists, I have studied more than one major area seriously and in the process, have completely disregarded my own advice on specialization.  But in return I have gained some insights into how the educational process works and how to identify talents in a man.

Talent might be imagined as a head start in a competition.  It’s an advantage, a combination of enthusiasm and ability.  You’ll notice it when you find yourself paying more attention almost absent-mindedly when reading or listening to a lecture.  Something clicks and it is a pleasure to study; you’ll be drawn to it.   This is the ideal learning situation.  It’s when genetics, talent, learning environment and teaching method come together that the top scientists like Richard Feynman are produced.  This strong desire to learn a subject and the ability to study without straining are key indicators of talent.  It is this that will allow the student to beat others who have no enthusiasm for their subject.

Often, this is the area that a man chooses to make his name in, if he is an academic or STEM disciple.  This makes perfect sense, as life is a competitive sport.  While being a small fish in a big pond may aid in personal development, when it comes time to start making money and the life or death struggle for existence, it is far better to be a big fish in a small pond and to dominate your competition.  There’s no such thing as a fair fight; you want to have as much advantage as possible and to win effortlessly.  This in part explains some of the intellectual snobbery that some students observe.  Teachers can be expected to defend the area from which they make their living from competitors, even their own graduate students in some cases.

Specialization plays a part.  There is no equality in this world, even in the area of talents.  Many biologists are not good at cellular biology.  Therefore, they avoid it and spend their mental dollar on areas that are more profitable and less taxing.  In every area there are setbacks and difficult areas, but in a true area of natural ability it should not be a hardship to overcome them.  What may be a major roadblock for the unenthusiastic will be a minor pothole to the talented.

Of course, there is such a thing as will, and forcing yourself to become good at an area.  In time, one might learn to love such an area.  It’s often the case that subjects one is bad at, one avoids; conversely, subjects that one excels at are vigorously pursued.

In the long term, hard work and perseverance will triumph talent.  Talent is just a head start, a lucky advantage.  It must be pressed and developed to be useful.  In a global environment and on a planet with 7 billion people, there is no room to be average.  There are more scientists and engineers alive today than in all of human history.  To make a career of using your mind, you must defeat your competition as easily as possible.

The best minds in this world choose an area where they naturally talented and then they work hard over long periods of time.  Everyone works hard – I’m sure that everyone has heard this refrain.  Everyone will swear how hard they work and how busy they are.  It’s what you get in return for your time that is judged.  Maximize your return by studying what you are naturally good at – all natural things specialize – and dominate your competition.