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The entire concept of "talent" is a myth.
Now I'm not talking about athletic "talent". That doesn't exist either, in that being 7 feet tall is simple in-born basketball ability, not talent. It's not something that helps you grow faster as a basketball player. You simply dunk harder than a 6 footer from the very start, and you'll dunk that much harder than him at your prime, too.
In the same vein, some people are born with more glycolytic muscle tissue because of genetics. They can run faster, jump higher, and punch harder because their muscles trade endurance for power. That isn't talent either, that's simply being better from the start.
Mental abilities don't follow the same pattern. There is no such thing as musical talent, because humans never evolved the ability to comprehend music. There is no such thing as artistic talent, because humans never evolved the ability to render images in 2D or 3D. There is no such thing as mechanical aptitude, because humans never had to be mechanics to survive.
What we did evolve is hyperplastic brains that can adapt to just about any situation. We can swim despite having no propensity for water, we can speak despite having no propensity for language, and we can do art and music despite having no propensity for those things.
But brain plasticity isn't a easy thing. You can't go "okay, I want to be an artist now" and your brain goes "okay, I'll put aside some space in the hippocampus".
Remaking your brain to accomplish a specific task is a lifelong process that results in lifelong changes to your brain architecture. An artist can never not be an artist again. A musician can never not understand notes. Not unless they're shot in the head. It takes decades and it's a neverending process during which more and more of your brain is set aside to accomplish these novel tasks that evolution never prepared us for.
Now I'm not talking about athletic "talent". That doesn't exist either, in that being 7 feet tall is simple in-born basketball ability, not talent. It's not something that helps you grow faster as a basketball player. You simply dunk harder than a 6 footer from the very start, and you'll dunk that much harder than him at your prime, too.
In the same vein, some people are born with more glycolytic muscle tissue because of genetics. They can run faster, jump higher, and punch harder because their muscles trade endurance for power. That isn't talent either, that's simply being better from the start.
Mental abilities don't follow the same pattern. There is no such thing as musical talent, because humans never evolved the ability to comprehend music. There is no such thing as artistic talent, because humans never evolved the ability to render images in 2D or 3D. There is no such thing as mechanical aptitude, because humans never had to be mechanics to survive.
What we did evolve is hyperplastic brains that can adapt to just about any situation. We can swim despite having no propensity for water, we can speak despite having no propensity for language, and we can do art and music despite having no propensity for those things.
But brain plasticity isn't a easy thing. You can't go "okay, I want to be an artist now" and your brain goes "okay, I'll put aside some space in the hippocampus".
Remaking your brain to accomplish a specific task is a lifelong process that results in lifelong changes to your brain architecture. An artist can never not be an artist again. A musician can never not understand notes. Not unless they're shot in the head. It takes decades and it's a neverending process during which more and more of your brain is set aside to accomplish these novel tasks that evolution never prepared us for.
