Duke University, English Composition, Dr. Comer

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Professor Comer
English Comp1
July 19, 2020

                Coyle’s concept of deep  practice

I used to think that a person's talent is an innate property of a person and is determined by the set of genes in the genome, i. e. at the chromosomal level.
But Daniel Coyle , the American journalist and publicist, who studies the possibility of developing human abilities, puts forward his concept of talent – the concept of deep practice, the main arguments of which are practicing more deeply, to struggle, to learn on yours errors.
Daniel made his conclusions traveling around the world, observing children with extraordinary abilities, finding out how they achieved their high results. He compares the climate, living conditions of these people, their financial situation and comes to the conclusion that the correct, original system of training athletics, musicians, pilots brings outstanding results.
Daniel Coyle believes that abilities can be developed to the level of talent if practiced in deep.
He addresses his conclusions to young people and coaches who strive to reveal their potential, to enrich their lives. He writes that talent looks innate, but we are able to control the skills we develop. Everyone has more potential than they can imagine.
His concept of deep practice includes several postulates:
               
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1) Training helps to develop natural abilities.
2) Frequent regular short workouts are necessary.
3) Training should be on the verge of possibilities.
4) Overcoming mistakes in practice makes a person smarter, stronger.
5) It's necessary to set a goal somewhat exceeding the capabilities of a person , i. e. it must be difficult for a person.
Coyle gives the following examples to prove his theory.
1. Student test results for memorising pairs of words from columns A and B. (p. 16). The graph with the missing letter in words was reproduced more easily, since the brain needed more effort to memorize it.
2. He gives the data of Professor Robert Bjork of University of California on the study of memory and learning processes. The results of studying the text in groups A (4 semesters) and B (1 semester) were influenced not by the amount of time spent, but by the number of tests conducted during the training (3), i. e. work on mistakes made in 1-3 tests led to better memorization of the text (18-19).
3. Link's safe ground flight simulators allowed pilots to practice complex maneuvers , correct their mistakes safely, without risking their lives, in a calm atmosphere. As a result, flight practice has improved, and the number of deaths has dropped sharply (23-24).
4. Coyle describes the phenomenon of Brazilian footballers who have achieved amazing performance through the use of "futsal" tactics in training. Namely: a game of 5-6 people on

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small basketball courts with concrete or wooden surfaces, with a small heavy ball, tactics of short, fast passes in constant motion (25-26).
The reason for writing the book was the phenomenal successes of athletics, musicians, scientists from different countries.
Coyle tries to find out whether the geographic and climatic conditions, political and cultural traditions of these countries affect the achievement of results, and comes to the conclusion that the development of talent is influenced, above all, by training in the right in deep practice.
In the conclusion I would say I liked this text very much! I completely agree with Daniel Coyle that it's necessary to practice hard and deeply to achieve the phenomenal results, but as a biologist I tend to consider that the possibility of the manifestation of an individual's ingenious abilities rather depends on his genome. I prove this postulate by the fact that even in the same conditions of deep practice, some people achieved excellent and good results, while others - phenomenal. Buy this is only my subjective opinion and I could be wrong.
I would like to thank and owe  Professor Dennis Comer to the opportunity to meet this interesting journalist and writer Daniel Coyle.