Karen F
Designer-Don't confuse with other online identities with my English/Chinese name.This is the only prof.one online
All about 'talent'
Talent means different things to different people, but when we see a
real talent, it is immedicately recognized universally.
So what is a talent ? How do you regard one as a talent ?
If you were to offer scholarship to a potential talent,
how would you do the selection ?
If the candidate came from a poor family but is slightly
inferior to the knowledge of that from a wealthy family,
(that has groomed the candidate with outstanding tutoring
and extra formal coaching and has better expore to the
advanced knowledge), whom would you give the scholarship
to ?
Good Answers (16)
David M
Managing Director of Sirleaf Pte Ltd and legal consultant. dmar9147@yahoo.com
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This is a bundle of questions so I will separate them out. A talent is a person with real natural ability, but the fact that a person does have talent is not always noticed. Some people are naturally diffident and rarely demonstrate their superiority to the others around them. Indeed, in some contexts, it is dangerous for people to prove that superiority. Jealousy is a terrible emotion.
All scholarships should be awarded on the basis of merit subject to a simple rule. If, as you say, a candidate comes carefully groomed, this person has no need of a scholarship. The family that paid for her additional schooling can easily pick up the bill for going on to the next educational stage. Scholarships are intended to open the door to the poor so that they may avoid the discrimination that so often prejudices those in society who have the least.
As to the difference in knowledge, the rule is "escape velocity". If a person has raw talent and is only marginally less successful than someone who has had every educational benefit, this person is still improving and will show rising maturity as the education process continues. You should always want to encourage someone who is still growing rather than someone who has reached a plateau. The people you want to benefit from the scholarships are those who will rise so fast through the education system that they leave as the new generation of high fliers. They have escape velocity.
Finally, you ask a political question about corruption. All systems are open to abuse by those who have power and wealthy parents are often able to influence the selection criteria for entry into higher education with financial aid. If the prevailing culture accepts this use of power, there is little that can be done. Save that, with your eyes open, you look for every way in which you can play your own game and get ahead. Those who win in the long term do not always start out with the money and power. Those with talent can still prevail.
Nigel M
Managing Director, Morgan PR - creating reputations
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Hi Karen,
What a terrific question you pose!
I think talent is a skill so mastered by the one who wields it that it seem natural, almost second nature - and that ability to make something tricky seem effortless is a real talent.
To answer the scholarship question, I would hope that the candidate given the opportunities from a wealthy family would realise that I award scholarships to candidates who display promise but do not have the means to participate without such funding. The one backed by money will have been given ample opportunity to develop their talent without additional funding and can apply for the position a bit later and we can see which candidate is worthy of the final appointment.
Hope that makes sense!
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John M
Business Consultant
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Karen thanks for the great question so I will answer it in several ways.
I believe everyone has a talent for something. I was lucky I had music- thus I teach music and have noticed that one of my pupils is extremely talented. Some people are born with a natural gift and a good perception on how to use it to the best advantage.
On you question in relation to wither being poor or wealthy and the option on whom to give a scholarship to - well money does not come into play here certainly not from my point of view. If we look for e.g. at X-Factor TV or Pop Idol or American Idol, we see may people with raw talent and those who are born with a gift of singing. Many of those come from welfare backgrounds or have had no opportunity in life. They have shown us all what they can do and how hard they really want something in their lives. It seems they are not just doing it for themselves but for their families too.
For those who seem to have come from a wealthy background it just seems expected- you will do well, we have the money to support you so get on with it- people will need you. For the poorer - they have to work twice as hard, prove much harder to others that they are worth their salt.
I can give no reasonable answer as to whom I would offer this opportunity to- although their is only one right and true answer and I believe it to be this: The person who knows what they desire and is steady in their heart and mind, the person who is in control of their needs and wants. The person who shows courage and passion and the person who can accept disappointment but relish a challenge. That is the person to whom I would offer a scholarship to.
David D
Law School student, Southwestern Law School
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This is a hard one to answer in short. I believe talent is independant of knowledge and experience. For example you can have someone who is proficient at the piano because of years of dedication, learning and practice, but they may not be that naturally talented. On the other hand you can have someone who is just as good on the piano but has only been playing for 6 months and has not received formal instruction. The second option may be more unrefined in their skill but they are skilled none the less. This is talent. The idea behind talent based scholarships in my opinion should be to give formal instruction and training to those with talent that would not otherwise receive it. That said, I believe that there should also be scholarships for those who have had the training and put in the hours and are looking to keep improving. One group is not better than the other (talent vs. training) and both should be sought after. Those with training can inspire those with talent to be better and those with talent and inspire those with training to think outside of the box.
Alejandro T
Experienced Applications Engineer, Latin American Business Developer. Ready to take on the next assignment
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Hello once again Karen:
It is absolutely wonderful to see that a person with so much "Talent" for asking great questions, should ask one about "talent", and it would be a privilege, as always, to try to share with you and the other contributors, my ideas and thoughts on the matter.
The matter at hand is "talent", and a quick look at the dictionary definition of the word, gives us "natural aptitude or skill", so if we related to talented human beings, are those who possess a natural inclination to do a particular task without too much prior trainning. They are just natural at doing it, whether it be playing the piano or other instruments, or having a special ability with numbers, etc.
Now, another question would be "Can talent be acquired?", well, perhaps, strictly by definition the answer has to be "No", but once a particular talent is discovered, especially at an early age, it may certainly be refined and polished to shine even brighter.
Now, to be able to grant a sholarship to someone, you would have some documentation or records of past achievements, or something that will demonstrate that that person has the inherent potential to excel, and acomplish very great things in the future. I believe that past actions are a very good indicator of future performance.
I firmly think that talent can be found irrespective of wealth, therefore, a poor individual may be as talented as the wealthiest of all, because talent is a natural aptitude, not one gotten through riches or money of any kind. But a wealthy person has the grand advantage of having the resources necessary to refine that talent to a much higher level, so based on this, I would be more inclined to extend help in the form of a scholarship, or a grant to a talented individual with lesser economic resources, to provide him/her with the same opportunities.
Karen, as always, a pleasure to contribute with my thoughts. Any questions or comments, please, do not hesitate to let me know any time.
Take care
Alejandro.
Eugene R
CEO
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Karen,
I must disagree: Real talent cannot possibly be rekognized immediately. Why not? Because there are many many different kinds of talent. I can be a lousy buisness person but a talented paiter. How would one possibly immediately rekognise this talent when meeting me?
The relevance of a talent depends on the desired application. Therefore the question should rather specifify what sort of scholarship to what sort of talent.
If I had to give away a scholarship in music and have a talented scientist in front of me, I still don't think I would award him, because his talent has nothing to do with this sort of scholarship.
Equally, ones social demographic background has nothing to do with talent. Talent is a natural gift opposed to simple knowledge that can be acquired financially by attending schools or courses.
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Allen L
Independent technical documentation professional
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We tend to see “talent” in music an art because they don’t require other people to show the ability. A lone individual with access to an instrument or a pencil and paper can display talent. Most other “talents” like sports demand a team or other players to show up and it’s harder to separate a learned skill from talent.
Using art as an example, most people can learn to draw pretty well with instruction and practice, but some people do as at least as well and sometimes much better with little formal instruction.
Talent is a natural ability independent of training.
Scholarships should be for people who display either a natural ability or a level of trained skill that would profit by instruction BUT who would not otherwise be able to afford that instruction.
Scholarships are used to get a student to attend a school they might otherwise not pick.
Well Karen,
The least I could say is that your opening statement was proven true judging from the different answers you received.
Talent for me is when somebody does something so easily in a way that it seems eerily unnatural and magical, when it's so hard, demanding or even impossible for others.
Regards,
SteGo
Qian B
President at Whalesfin Inc.
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I love your questions. Your thinking is more like some people in Brandeis IBS, full of free format and art form. However, most industrial CEOs were trained to have the structural thinking to be successful in Business. most people tend to link "talent" with "success". The bottom line is "Success". Not all the talent people are successful. In history, some musicians (especially composers) were recognized after they pass away. However, most of them are.
Clarification added 11 months ago:
Most of talent people are successful while they are alive.
Talent is a combination of aptitude (innate ability, training and hard work) and attitude. True talent is reflected in everything the person says or does, in the quality of the work produced in the area wherein the person is talented. Since talent has a lot to do with creativity, it cannot be measured the same way in each individual. This is what makes it difficult to identify. True experts in the field are the ones most likely to identify talent.
How would I identify talent? Through practical demonstration in the area being tested.
Would I offer a scholarship to the poor or rich candidate? The purpose of any scholarship is to give opportunities to those who would otherwise not have access to such opportunities. By this interpretation, the poor candidate deserves the scholarship. However, if the rules of the scholarship states that the selection is purely based on merit, the question is moot.
Susan S
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., financial marketing writer.
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I have -one- real talent, which is the ability to recognize innate ability. The hair on the back of my neck stands up, and my attention is riveted. Sometimes, this happens immediately: a dancer comes on stage and does one LEAP, and I'm wide-eyed. Sometimes, it takes listening to someone speak and learning, over time, what that person can do.
Scholarships? If the scholarship is needs-based, there's no question: the student in greater financial need gets it. If it's purely on merit, then, as John says, the more passionate student gets it. Teachers can tell the difference between the technically perfect and the virtuoso.
I heard Arthur Rubenstein play, in the last year of his life. He played the Waldstein Sonata, a piece I was working on (badly) at the time. As my teacher warned me, Rubenstein strikes wrong notes. He struck four. It was the -other- notes that went right through me, coupled with an interpretation I'd never heard before.
The New York Times has a similar review of Daniel Barenboim's all-Liszt concert at the Metropolitan Opera not too long ago. Wrong notes, but who cared??? (My hair was standing up so far I looked like a porcupine with greeneyes in evening clothes.)
Clarification added 11 months ago:
Great question, by the way.
John C
ROCK SOLID Business Coach : I'm the guy business owners call when they want more TRaction
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I agree with many above - talent is a natural ability separate from skill because less talented people can work hard and develop excellent skills.
I also believe that you should give the scholarship to the person from the poor family if and only if the person appreciates the opportunity.
I suspect the person from the wealthy family will be presented with another opportunity to be successful at some point.
John Cameron
ROCK SOLID Business Coach
Connor J. P
Senior Project Management Consultant at Dead Canary Solutions -- www.deadcanarysolutions.com
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I see talent as the facility for a person to perform a task. It does not matter as much how they got there, through natural ability or through extensive training, because we typically benchmark and compare them with little regard to their origins.
As for the second part of your questions, I'd like to say ... give the poor boy a chance, but your choice should be qualified by who you think would have more potential for growth. Meeting a potential employee during interviews is a single point in time. Projecting the impact of either choice on the organization over time should be the determining factor in your choice.
Hope that helps.
Connor
Gregory S
Doctoral Candidate (Ed.D.) at Northeastern University
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Please take the time to read Geoff Colvin's excellent book, "Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else"
In his view, talent is nothing. What really separates the best performers is a commitment to DELIBERATE PRACTICE and thousands of hours of hard work.
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Josh C
General Manager at Web Industries; Itinerant Writer; and Decent Little League Coach
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Hi Karen,
I distinguish between "knowledge" and the ability to apply it.
Lots of people have knowledge. Fewer can apply it, and fewer still can apply it within a context...for example, a company's strategy.
I also think of "talent" as "competence"...which might not sound like high praise, but in my book it means someone who gets it and can figure it out...the type of person to whom you hand an assignment that they may have no background for, but who knows how to ask the right questions, learn fast, and get the job done.
Josh.
Indira C
Banking Professional
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Talent is desert and skill is oasis....Family background should not be the criteria for selection...The person's capabilities must be taken into account....To further the talent of a person who comes not from a wealthy family cannot truely afford the luxury of enhancing his potential to the fullest....Thus he very much deserves the scholarship !
Hardship certainly pays back the obligation of contribution/help with Success....
Clarification added 10 months ago:
for he genuinely knows what it is not to have.....
More Answers (4)
Raghav Raman P
is re-inventing himself... | Ever More & Better Ever
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Hello Karen
Hope you are doing well.
Try using Thinking Pattern Profile - www.exon.in/thinkingpattern.html
Write to me for more information.
Raghav Pandit | www.linkedin.com/in/raghavpandit
Mobile: +91-9810774814
Email: raghavpandit@hotmail.com
Ravinder B
Business Leader, Team Builder, Performer
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Even if I were the only person saying so, I would still say give it to the more needy.
Chris D
Managing Consultant - Intelligentia
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Chris D suggests this expert on this topic:
Sandra V
Legal Writer/Researcher at Sandra Vaughn-Cooke
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This would be a no-brainer for me .
If a candidate who has had no formal coaching and training, from a poor family (poor, maybe not well educated?) has been able to reach a standard of performance slightly below that of a candidate from a wealthy family who has had the benefit of grooming and formal coaching, tutoring, and exposure, this would have me look at the potential of each candidate.
The financial status of the families would not be a factor, but the fact that the candidate who has had the benefit of grooming, formal coaching, etc, has attained a standard only slightly above that of the other would make me believe that with the same type of exposure, the poorer candidate would far outstrip her rival.
