Practice, the saying goes, makes perfect. And, if you believe a common piece of wisdom, it’s a specific amount of practice: 10,000 hours. Make that threshold, the advice goes, and you will achieve expertise, no matter how low your skill level at the start. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

It’s an attractive idea, not least because it implies that greatness is just a matter of grit. Want to be a musical maestro or the next Picasso? You can! All you need to do is practice .

It makes sense, really. Unfortunately, it’s simply not true.

Hunting 10,000 hours

The idea that 10,000 hours is what it takes to become an expert at any given skill is one that, now, is as pervasive as the air we breathe. So it’s worth asking:

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