Experts in many areas

In many areas of expertise, ranging from music, dance, art, and literature to sports, chess, mathematics, science, and foreign-language acquisition, there is abundant evidence that young people differ from one another in their attainments and in the apparent ease with which they achieve them. 1 within a family there may be marked differences: for example, a child who struggles at a musical instrument without 2 success may be overtaken by a younger sibling.

It is widely believed that the likelihood 3 exceptionally competent in certain fields depends on the presence or absence of inborn attributes variously labelled “talents” or “gifts” or, less often, “natural aptitudes.” According to an informal British survey, more than threequarters of music educators who decide 4 young people are to receive instruction believe that children cannot do well unless they have special innate gifts (Davis 1994). The judgement that someone is talented is believed to 5 explain (as distinct from merely describing) that person’s success. It is also widely assumed that the innate talent that makes it possible for an individual to excel can be detected in early childhood.