Bounce: The Myth of Talent and the Power of Practice
- Downloads：7123
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-11 08:54:31
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Matthew Syed
- ISBN：0007350546
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Publisher's Summary
Why have all the sprinters who have run the 100 meters in under 10 seconds been black？
What's one thing Mozart， Venus Williams， and Michelangelo have in common？
Is it good to praise a child's intelligence？
Why are baseball players so superstitious？
Few things in life are more satisfying than beating a rival。 We love to win and hate to lose， whether it's on the playing field or at the ballot box， in the office or in the classroom。 In this bold new look at human behavior， award-winning journalist and Olympian Matthew Syed explores the truth about our competitive nature: why we win， why we don't， and how we really play the game of life。
Bounce reveals how competition - the most vivid， primal， and dramatic of human pursuits - provides vital insight into many of the most controversial issues of our time， from biology and economics， to psychology and culture， to genetics and race， to sports and politics。
Backed by cutting-edge scientific research and case studies， Syed shatters long-held myths about meritocracy， talent， performance， and the mind。 He explains why some people thrive under pressure and others choke， and weighs the value of innate ability against that of practice， hard work， and will。 From sex to math， from the motivation of children to the culture of big business， Bounce shows how competition provides a master key with which to unlock the mysteries of the world。
Why have all the sprinters who have run the 100 meters in under 10 seconds been black？
What's one thing Mozart， Venus Williams， and Michelangelo have in common？
Is it good to praise a child's intelligence？
Why are baseball players so superstitious？
Few things in life are more satisfying than beating a rival。 We love to win and hate to lose， whether it's on the playing field or at the ballot box， in the office or in the classroom。 In this bold new look at human behavior， award-winning journalist and Olympian Matthew Syed explores the truth about our competitive nature: why we win， why we don't， and how we really play the game of life。
Bounce reveals how competition - the most vivid， primal， and dramatic of human pursuits - provides vital insight into many of the most controversial issues of our time， from biology and economics， to psychology and culture， to genetics and race， to sports and politics。
Backed by cutting-edge scientific research and case studies， Syed shatters long-held myths about meritocracy， talent， performance， and the mind。 He explains why some people thrive under pressure and others choke， and weighs the value of innate ability against that of practice， hard work， and will。 From sex to math， from the motivation of children to the culture of big business， Bounce shows how competition provides a master key with which to unlock the mysteries of the world。
Reviews
☁
，
Matthew Syed has done it once again。 His ability to encapsulate what it takes to become successful is extremely accessible to many readers。
Luigino Bottega
，
The process that leads us to be truly prepared to face life and the opportunities around us will allow us to grow and reach a turning point in the perception of reality。 This drives the transformation of how we see， create and organize the world。Inspiring book！
Paul Narloch
，
Good effort。 Interesting read。
Toni SCRUMptious
，
I give a three star review to a book if I found it interesting to read， but am unlikely to re-read， refer back to or recommend to colleagues。My usual perspective of "talent" is from an artistic or technological viewpoint， so looking from a predominantly sporting perspective was very much outside of my comfort zone。 I often work with engineers who like sport， so it may well give me some useful anecdotes。 Much to my own amazement， I have already relayed an account of why Brazil is so good at footb I give a three star review to a book if I found it interesting to read， but am unlikely to re-read， refer back to or recommend to colleagues。My usual perspective of "talent" is from an artistic or technological viewpoint， so looking from a predominantly sporting perspective was very much outside of my comfort zone。 I often work with engineers who like sport， so it may well give me some useful anecdotes。 Much to my own amazement， I have already relayed an account of why Brazil is so good at football。 。。。more
Hammad
，
The amount of overlap with Preditably Irrational， Thinking: Fast and Slow， and Outliers， down to verbatim reuse of examples/anecdotes， detracts from the potential of the book。
Roshan
，
Yet another book that should have remained a Ted talk or a Medium post。 One idea/ a few examples
Param Ganeriwal
，
Insightful， but way too repetitive。
HECTOR BAGLEY
，
Interesting ideas。 Last two chapters a bit controversial。 Loved the chapter on choking。
Alexandra Graßler
，
Dieses Buch ist eine Offenbarung für alle die immer noch denken dass es so etwas Mystisches wie Talent gibt。Der Autor Matthew Syed hat in seinem Buch “Was heißt schon Talent？” （erschienen im Riemann Verlag） genau das komplett auseinander genommen。In vielen Fallgeschichten zeigt er eindeutig auf， dass es tatsächlich ganz klassisch daran liegt wie viel Stunden jemand in etwas investiert， ob die äußeren Gegebenheiten die Chance fördern Erfolg zu haben und die eigene Motivation dazu passt。Wir werden Dieses Buch ist eine Offenbarung für alle die immer noch denken dass es so etwas Mystisches wie Talent gibt。Der Autor Matthew Syed hat in seinem Buch “Was heißt schon Talent？” （erschienen im Riemann Verlag） genau das komplett auseinander genommen。In vielen Fallgeschichten zeigt er eindeutig auf， dass es tatsächlich ganz klassisch daran liegt wie viel Stunden jemand in etwas investiert， ob die äußeren Gegebenheiten die Chance fördern Erfolg zu haben und die eigene Motivation dazu passt。Wir werden also nicht drumrum kommen tausende von Stunden in etwas zu investieren， wenn wir darin richtig gut werden wollen。Es fällt tatsächlich kein Meister vom Himmel， was dieses Buch super gut aufzeigt。Die ganzen Beispiele die aufgeführt werden， ziehen sich über Sport， Schach， Business und andere Gebiete im Leben。Und nach diesem Buch gibt es keine Ausreden mehr dafür， wenn man in irgendetwas Erfolg haben möchte。 。。。more
Anett Rolikova
，
Book about principles of hard work and commitment， you need to train thousand times to get where you want to be。 Why people like Tiger woods， Williams sisters & other famous people are where they are is because of hard work， training every day。 Hard work is the best way to develop talent。 Failure is apart of the experience， it is inevitable part of the success。 Understanding the benefits of hard work will not only change your life but also push you to attain more and run off the people around yo Book about principles of hard work and commitment， you need to train thousand times to get where you want to be。 Why people like Tiger woods， Williams sisters & other famous people are where they are is because of hard work， training every day。 Hard work is the best way to develop talent。 Failure is apart of the experience， it is inevitable part of the success。 Understanding the benefits of hard work will not only change your life but also push you to attain more and run off the people around you。 。。。more
Carlos Vieira Pinto
，
Very good take on the talent vs practice themes。
Chris Kotze
，
Very interesting， not entirely convinced by some of the arguments
Izhar
，
This book tells us different perspective of "talent"。 There are a lot of similar books， that talent is nurtured and needs lot of works to build， but I like how the author started the book with his own experience as athlete。 This book tells us different perspective of "talent"。 There are a lot of similar books， that talent is nurtured and needs lot of works to build， but I like how the author started the book with his own experience as athlete。 。。。more
Megan
，
3。5
David Ryan
，
A convincing argument that tenacity wins over natural born talent。 Practice， revision and adaptation are the keys to perfected performance as seen with Mozart， Da Vinci， Federer and Picasso。 The book's font， spacing and paper stock with deckled edges is exemplary。 A convincing argument that tenacity wins over natural born talent。 Practice， revision and adaptation are the keys to perfected performance as seen with Mozart， Da Vinci， Federer and Picasso。 The book's font， spacing and paper stock with deckled edges is exemplary。 。。。more
Jason Harris
，
This book belongs to that pestilential category of books written by journalists or writers about fields in which they have no expertise; typically， fields in the sciences。 Nevertheless， this book is not terrible。 Its handling of the sciences is not bad for a non-scientist and its thesis is thought-provoking and challenging if not always argued well or qualified enough to be quite convincing。If I could give 2。5 stars， I would。 Which puts it between "it was ok" and "I liked it" on the goodreads st This book belongs to that pestilential category of books written by journalists or writers about fields in which they have no expertise; typically， fields in the sciences。 Nevertheless， this book is not terrible。 Its handling of the sciences is not bad for a non-scientist and its thesis is thought-provoking and challenging if not always argued well or qualified enough to be quite convincing。If I could give 2。5 stars， I would。 Which puts it between "it was ok" and "I liked it" on the goodreads star scale。 。。。more
Rhonda Grant
，
‘Success’ is determined so much more than just by ‘talent’ alone。 This books explores many of those factors。 I particularly like the topics around 10，000 hours of practice leading to expertise， and the final chapter on race: how lifestyle and culture have more to do with success than genetics。。。
Gill
，
In summary: success is not about natural talent， it's about hard work and practice。 Don't praise kids for being clever or talented， praise them for working hard。The exclusive - and exclusionary - use of the word "sportsmen" and Syed's focus on men's sport is hugely irritating。 Women play sport too mate。 The best part is the final chapter on the fallacy of particular races being genetically predisposed to particular sports， and the unconscious bias reinforcing those stereotypes。 It's a shame that In summary: success is not about natural talent， it's about hard work and practice。 Don't praise kids for being clever or talented， praise them for working hard。The exclusive - and exclusionary - use of the word "sportsmen" and Syed's focus on men's sport is hugely irritating。 Women play sport too mate。 The best part is the final chapter on the fallacy of particular races being genetically predisposed to particular sports， and the unconscious bias reinforcing those stereotypes。 It's a shame that Syed didn't examine gender stereotyping in the same way。 。。。more
David Ball
，
My thoughts on Bounce cannoned back and forth like a ping pong ball。 Syed starts off referencing the 10，000 hours of practise needed for success， and I’m thinking ho hum I’ve seen this before， but he takes Malcolm Gladwell’s theory and pushes it forward。 It’s not just 10，000 hours required， but 10，000 hours of purposeful practise。 It must be challenging to be effective。 With effort， experts are able to convert a greater proportion of what they do to muscle memory， which gives them more time to c My thoughts on Bounce cannoned back and forth like a ping pong ball。 Syed starts off referencing the 10，000 hours of practise needed for success， and I’m thinking ho hum I’ve seen this before， but he takes Malcolm Gladwell’s theory and pushes it forward。 It’s not just 10，000 hours required， but 10，000 hours of purposeful practise。 It must be challenging to be effective。 With effort， experts are able to convert a greater proportion of what they do to muscle memory， which gives them more time to concentrate on higher level tasks such as strategy。 This concerted effort can give the appearance of genius。 It’s a very optimistic theory， as Syed shows that sports superstars， chess grandmasters， advanced mathematicians， and child prodigies are not innately gifted， but a product of application。 Anyone can do it， which means we should reward practise and hard work not raw talent。 In a perfect world Syed would have stayed on this theme， delving deeper and deeper into success and knowledge acquisition， but he pivots to religious belief and the power of positive thinking， and choking and superstition - all interesting subjects， but nowhere near as enriching as his opening line of thought， with far fewer takeaways。 Syed ends with essays on three random topics: how the mind deals with optical illusions， the ethics of performance enhancing drugs， and the genetic differences of black athletes。 The last topic， with its focus on the great long distance runners from east Africa， circles back to the nurture argument for excellence that the book starts with。 Again I was struck by a sense of déjà vu， as I recall the exact same subject being covered in David Epstein’s The Sports Gene， but in much more depth。 I dug out my copy of The Sports Gene - it was published in 2013， three years after Bounce。 So it appears Epstein took Syed’s idea on black African genetics and improved it; similar to how Syed advanced Gladwell’s theory on expertise。 In the genre of pop psychology the books are unusually self referential - everyone riffs on similar themes - which makes the order the books are read particularly relevant。 For those counting: Outliers was published in 2008; Bounce in 2010; the Sports Gene in 2013。 。。。more
Waseem
，
This was a good book - a bit like the books “The Talent Code” and “Talent Myth” which emphasised the importance of continued practice， repetition and more in developing skill and “talent” vs the debunked idea some people are just born with talent/ability - this book added the importance of that and more by also covering the importance of mental attitude， beliefs and more which too I agree are equally important from what I have observed in life。To Our Continued Success！Seemy http://www。WaseemMirz This was a good book - a bit like the books “The Talent Code” and “Talent Myth” which emphasised the importance of continued practice， repetition and more in developing skill and “talent” vs the debunked idea some people are just born with talent/ability - this book added the importance of that and more by also covering the importance of mental attitude， beliefs and more which too I agree are equally important from what I have observed in life。To Our Continued Success！Seemy http://www。WaseemMirza。net 。。。more
Tabish Khan
，
Excellent and clearly written book on how we view certain aspects of sport and the science and psychology behind it。 He looks at how talent is a myth and it's all about practice， dispels the views of why certain races are seen as better at certain sports and how other factors we dismiss shape how successful a person is。 Matthew Syed is a clear and articulate writer and he is open and humble about his own failings in sport。 It's a great book to read alongside Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell， and Sye Excellent and clearly written book on how we view certain aspects of sport and the science and psychology behind it。 He looks at how talent is a myth and it's all about practice， dispels the views of why certain races are seen as better at certain sports and how other factors we dismiss shape how successful a person is。 Matthew Syed is a clear and articulate writer and he is open and humble about his own failings in sport。 It's a great book to read alongside Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell， and Syed does reference that book。 。。。more
Library of
，
Matthew Syed is the former British table tennis professional who after his career became a journalist and writer。 The book’s basic message is the classic 10，000-hour rule。 That people are not born with talent that leads to success。 Those who achieve success work hard and get paid accordingly。 The book is intended to be a further development of Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers based on the latest from neuroscience。 OPPORTUNITY & HARD WORK。 It is a myth that those who practice something at a high Matthew Syed is the former British table tennis professional who after his career became a journalist and writer。 The book’s basic message is the classic 10，000-hour rule。 That people are not born with talent that leads to success。 Those who achieve success work hard and get paid accordingly。 The book is intended to be a further development of Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers based on the latest from neuroscience。 OPPORTUNITY & HARD WORK。 It is a myth that those who practice something at a high level are the ones with the greatest talent。 What we see is just the tip of the iceberg。 We see the end product of thousands of hours of training。 Very few have innate talent where without intense training they become experts in something。 But you do not reach the expert level through talent and training， you reach it through the opportunity to be exposed early to an interest and the opportunity to put in the hours。“If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery， it would not seem so wonderful at all。”– MichelangeloDELIBERATE PRACTICE。 It’s not just the number of hours that counts， it’s also how qualitative they are。 One example is driving: most drivers spend more than 10，000 hours behind the wheel in a decade or two。 Still， most are not to be classified as expert drivers。 It has mainly been passive hours behind the wheel。 What counts are active hours， where we practice difficult tasks with the goal of refining our skills。“The path to excellence is inordinately lengthy， requiring a minimum of ten thousand hours of lung busting effort to get to the summit。”TALENT IS A MYTH。 Tiger Woods， the Williams sisters， Mozart， Susan Polgar and Roger Federer were all successful at a young age， which is often explained by the assumption of innate talent。 Syed believes that they simply received more deliberate practice at a young age than others。 Of course， they also had good basic conditions。 But all of the child stars listed above had parents who took on a professional coaching role and who set up a tough training schedule。FAIL FORWARD。 One difference between masters and amateurs is that the former “fails forward” – their mistakes become lessons that take them forward。 They know that failure is an opportunity to learn and get better。 Michael Jordan is said to have said “I’ve missed more than 9，000 shots”。 Those who succeed best are those who have failed the most。”The paradox of excellences is that it is built upon the foundations of necessary failure”MOTIVATION BY ASSOCIATION。 If we see someone who has fulfilled what we aim to achieve and who also shares some qualities with us， it can ignite a strong spark in us。 This makes it more reasonable for us to be able to achieve our goals。 We should therefore look for role models and imitate the qualities of those we admire。VISUALIZE SUCCESS。 10，000 hours of deliberate practice alone is not enough to get to the top。 You must also be able to perform when it counts。 Many top athletes have felt the phenomenon of “choking” and felt paralyzed at the very moment when all the thousands of hours of training are to be used。 To reach the top， one must also cope with mental pressure。 Many top athletes prepare by visualizing their success。 They see and feel how they will jump over the obstacle， score a goal or take the lead in the race。“There is an innate capacity for our bodies to bring into being， to the best of their ability， the optimistic scenarios in which we fervently believe。”LATER DOESN’T ALWAYS COMES。 If we want somewhere， we should grab it right away and not push it into the future。 An example from the book is a young promising basketball player who considered taking a year off before continuing his elite venture。 His mother said “later does not always come for everyone”。 He realized that if professional players were what he wanted to become， then a year’s break would risk him missing his chance。 。。。more
Khurram
，
Hard work over abilityA good book。 I have always believed in hard work over ability。 That is what attracted me to this book in the first place。 A number of the different studies and stories about a number of sporting personalities I have read before， but the where put together well in this book。I do disagree with the stance of finding a compromise with drug cheats/dopers。 Maybe the was to get them out of the sport is a long struggle， but I belive by making an example of as many as possible might Hard work over abilityA good book。 I have always believed in hard work over ability。 That is what attracted me to this book in the first place。 A number of the different studies and stories about a number of sporting personalities I have read before， but the where put together well in this book。I do disagree with the stance of finding a compromise with drug cheats/dopers。 Maybe the was to get them out of the sport is a long struggle， but I belive by making an example of as many as possible might get a message across。A good all round book。 Well researched and well written。 I think the fact that Matthew has a background in journalism the research and references are on point。 The most important point for me is if you work hard enough you can achieve what you set your mind to。 。。。more
Lori
，
I enjoyed the explanation of "child prodigy"， not so much on the rest of it。。。 I enjoyed the explanation of "child prodigy"， not so much on the rest of it。。。 。。。more
Alison Scowcroft
，
Principle of continuous improvement and marginal gains， its simple but hard to embrace in real life。 An easy read with examples of celebrities adopting this technique
Miriam
，
This book was a refreshing reexamination of the talent hypothesis （namely that excellence mostly stems from talent）; though I didn't find the content， which leans on a number of uber-famous studies， groundbreaking per say， it has a distinctly Gladwellian tone to it， and I really enjoyed reading about Syed's experiences in professional sports。 Would definitely recommend this book; not just interesting but also applicable to your own life。 This book was a refreshing reexamination of the talent hypothesis （namely that excellence mostly stems from talent）; though I didn't find the content， which leans on a number of uber-famous studies， groundbreaking per say， it has a distinctly Gladwellian tone to it， and I really enjoyed reading about Syed's experiences in professional sports。 Would definitely recommend this book; not just interesting but also applicable to your own life。 。。。more
Giuseppe Lombardo
，
A very refreshing read on common sense， hard work and true stories translated into sound advice。 The comparison of achieving high performance in business to that of an olympic athlete is so relevant & logical。 The focus common on quality， discipline & determination is a compelling & enlightening read ！
Nathanael Winslow
，
Some people are born with more ability in certain areas， right？ Wrong， says Syed！ Greatness is the result of social factors and hard work。 Also， there are psychological factors that great performers possess。 These， too， are attainable by anyone willing and motivated to practice。 In fact， it is not possible to possess these psychological advantages unless one has spent thousands of hours （10，000 to be exact） in focused practice。It's largely a sports psychology book， but also applicable in any are Some people are born with more ability in certain areas， right？ Wrong， says Syed！ Greatness is the result of social factors and hard work。 Also， there are psychological factors that great performers possess。 These， too， are attainable by anyone willing and motivated to practice。 In fact， it is not possible to possess these psychological advantages unless one has spent thousands of hours （10，000 to be exact） in focused practice。It's largely a sports psychology book， but also applicable in any arena where you would find high achievers。。。business， science， music， politics， education， etc。 I agree that hard work and social factors are crucial ingredients for success and I believe the core message of the book， to encourage a growth mindset （as opposed to a talent mindset。。。ie you're either born with "it" or you're not）， is very very important for everyone to embrace。 If everyone lived this principle， the world would perform on a much higher level in general。 I also think his psychological explanation for why practice and experience are crucial for performing complex tasks at a high level is very useful for those pursuing proficiency in any area or for those responsible for spotting "talent。" Also， I found all the examples he gave and stories very interesting and educational！Why only 3 stars？ For one thing， the last two chapters just felt out of place。 Chapter 9 is basically an ethics case study about performance enhancing drugs and technology。 I guess it's loosely related because performance enhancing tech could decrease the value of hard work， but the chapter just felt like an afterthought he just tacked on。 Chapter 10 was more relevant， debunking the myth that black people are naturally more gifted athletically。 I was with him as he explained that socio-economic factors have played a greater role in driving black people's dominance in many sports than genetics。 I think most people share his conclusion today。 But he then asserts that black people are more likely to be high achievers in sports because they do not have the same opportunities in other areas。。。education， economics， and politics。。。at the very same time as he says that black kids are more motivated to pursue sports because of their belief that they do not have equal opportunity in other areas。 What rankles me is that by asserting that black people dominate sports because they lack equal opportunity， he is only perpetuating the belief that they lack equal opportunity， and therefore perpetuating black America's underrepresentation in those other arenas of society！ A young black child reading this book， already predisposed to buy into this message， will only be confirmed in his belief in the inequality that Syed would decry。 The problem is， never in history have black children possessed more opportunity than today's black Americans。 No one would deny there are hurdles to many black children。 Many black families and communities are fractured and crippled by bad choices and with the help of corrupt government。 But Syed's failure to endorse his own message of hard work as the long term solution is only fuel on the fire。 Syed can enjoy the social halo that no doubt adorns him now。 Unfortunately， he squanders a major opportunity when instead of encouraging young black kids to better themselves with hard work in areas that they now have unprecedented access to， he encourages them to cast blame at the feet of others。The second reason I only gave it three stars is that several times he tries to explain the reason for certain psychological observations using evolutionary theory。 For example， he says that humans tend to create causal relationships that don't exist （evidenced by superstitions a lot of athletes develop）， because when we were cave men， it protected us from danger we believed to be associated with certain events， even though the danger and the event might be totally unrelated。。。like a bush rustling might be caused by a lion about to pounce on us。 Believe it or not， this is stuff actual scientists believe。 If you want to talk about interpretive bias。。。 。。。more
Orcun
，
Excellent performance， even in sports or the arts， does not require talent。 It requires years of “purposeful practice。”Becoming an expert or champion requires working extremely hard and constantly pushing yourself during practice to attain new， out-of-reach targets。Success requires not only strong experience， but also “deep concentration。” Thus， you must constantly push your limits and extend yourself beyond your normal comfort zone。 To strengthen your abilities， practice must have a clear purpo Excellent performance， even in sports or the arts， does not require talent。 It requires years of “purposeful practice。”Becoming an expert or champion requires working extremely hard and constantly pushing yourself during practice to attain new， out-of-reach targets。Success requires not only strong experience， but also “deep concentration。” Thus， you must constantly push your limits and extend yourself beyond your normal comfort zone。 To strengthen your abilities， practice must have a clear purpose: to make progressFor champions， failure is part of the process of improving。 。。。more
Alexander Miguel Roscoe
，