@drdoombot: I think do understand what was trying to say. :) It seems as if I have done a lousy job of explaining my position, and I apologize for that! I do agree with what you wrote, “an untalented person who works hard can be skillful,” however @pdworkin mentioned an idea that involved talentless people being able to reach a level of expertise, not just skillfulness. And in regards to that, I do not entirely agree.
While the idea of spending an astronomical amount of time doing something would make someone an “expert” sounds plausible, I partially disagree with it. I absolutely agree that it would take an average person a long and laborious effort to achieve what someone with natural talent could do with ease. I also agree that 10,000 hours of practice will surely increase skill level, but there isn’t any certainty that someone with average skill could become masterful or an expert. I believe that people have certain boundaries and limits.
For example, and this will be my last lame example some people were born with the innate talent to run fast. I ran cross country all throughout high school, I finished my first standard 5K race with a comedic 28 minutes and after four years I whittled the time down to a slightly less comedic 23 minutes. Jenny, the fastest girl on my team ran always ran 5Ks in just under 18 minutes.
My point here is that I possessed the skill to run, I clearly made improvement after running nearly 50 miles a week, almost year round – just as much effort and practice as Jenny had. But, after four years I could only manage to improve one “level” – from lousy to mediocre. I had the skill to run, but I did not possess a natural inclination to run any faster than seven minutes per mile; I like to think limits and boundaries are what held me back. Jenny was fast as lightning from the very beginning. It takes more than just skillfulness to be something great. It starts with talent.