Originally uploaded by ehoyer

Bloggers are genii.  Or, at least, bloggers are generally closer to genius than those who take to firing pot-shots at them.  The reason is simple. Genius isn’t something that is plucked out of the ether, it’s something you wipe from your brow.

In Saturday’s Guardian, Malcolm Gladwell looked deeply into the concept of ‘innate’ genius and found it wanting. Genius isn’t born, it is learnt, he said.
Drawing from a study on virtuoso violinists by psychologist K Anders Ericsson, Gladwell came to a conclusion that reads glumly for anyone who is waiting for their inner light to spontaneously shine through. It ain’t about flicking a switch, it’s about generating electricity.

For those with talent, the difference between the good and the great is firstly opportunity, but more importantly, effort.
“The curious thing about Ericsson’s study is that he and his colleagues couldn’t find any “naturals” – musicians who could float effortlessly to the top while practising a fraction of the time that their peers did.”
Gladwell continues: “Their research suggested that once you have enough ability to get into a top music school, the thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works. That’s it. What’s more, the people at the very top don’t just work much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder.”

All of which is good news for bloggers.
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