Someone Has Been Taking Malcolm Gladwell Too Seriously!
Thanks to reader Jeff for Michael Kruse's lengthy St. Petersburg Times story on Dan McLaughlin, an Oregonian who is testing the Gladwell-preached theory from "Outliers" that says with 10,000 hours of deliberate practice you can lift yourself from ordinary to excellence, even though McLaughlin was not a golfer prior to conceiving "The Dan Plan."
One wet, raw day last April, at the Broadmoor public golf course in Portland, Ore., Dan McLaughlin stood in the center of one of the greens. He wore running shoes, blue jeans and a yellow rubber raincoat. He wrapped his frozen fingers around a two-buck putter and hit one-foot putts, and he did that for two hours straight, stopped for a cup of hot, decaffeinated tea, then did it for two hours more. That's how this started.
On his 30th birthday, June 27, 2009, Dan had decided to quit his job to become a professional golfer.
He had almost no experience and even less interest in the sport.
What he really wanted to do was test the 10,000-hour theory he read about in the Malcolm Gladwell bestseller Outliers. That, Gladwell wrote, is the amount of time it takes to get really good at anything — "the magic number of greatness."
For those of you calculating at your workplace...
The Dan Plan will take six hours a day, six days a week, for six years. He is keeping diligent records of his practice and progress. People who study expertise say no one has done quite what Dan is doing right now.
There's a good reason for that.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 10:30 PM
Reader Comments (36)
Good book
Despite the questions (especially the ones around the research that's driving this), I'm very interested in the results. If nothing else, it'll speak to the effectiveness of his training methods.
" “Deliberate practice” designed to improve performance is the key. It includes continually stretching yourself just beyond your current capabilities. You have to identify the elements of your performance that need to be improved and work intensely on them and with repetition. That means using deep focus and concentration."
Most of us don't do Deliberate Practice, we practice what's fun. That's why you see guys "practicing" on the range hitting driver a hundred times instead of chipping and putting. Watch any tour pro practice - these guys aren't screwing around, they're deliberately working on specific parts of their games with their coaches.
I am reminded of an adage we told out kids growing up.
~*~*~*~"Just because you think of something, does not mean you have to say it out loud''*~*~*~*~
As for Gladwell, I read one of his books once. Anecdotal claptrap enough for this and several other lifetimes.
I think the above reference to talent is important. Identifiy the natural talent first, and then commit to the 10,000 hrs.
Natural talent has more to do with body type, athleticism, emotion, mental fortitude etc. Screening for these natural attributes disqualifies 99% of us. The odds are overwhelming that this new guinea pig is one of us in the bottom 99th percentile.
His prospects as a professional still may be slim - but thats a reflection of his chosen industry not the theory.
One of the points of Gladwells work is that most of us don't put the work into our chosen profession, and are unable to capitalize when a once in a lifetime opportunity presents itself.
For those who seem to think the hours are a farce and talent is god given , I think that you overestimate what we are born with, and what we are able to make of ourselves, especially when our goals are simply getting better, as opposed to getting acclaim or riches. When athletes apply themselves to getting better because they are driven to do so, i think the 10,000 hour rule is excellant. If their goal is fame and fortune, not so much, as they rarely practice at acquiring fame and fortune for the 10,000 hours! in that case they are usually practicing the wrong thing!
A more pertinent question: After looking at the picture of young Mr. McLaughlin, how many golfers with a handicap of less than 15 would be apparently leaning so far forward on a half-wedge shot and generally looking that stiff? Which is not to say he can't achieve his heart's desire. We all wish him well. And he is learning the Game from the hole back to the tee, as recommended by Harvey Penick. So he has that going for him.
In "outliers" Gladwell writes about "unique experiences" and cites Bill Gates and Paul Allen as having more computer experience than any other math wizard teenagers in the world at that point in time (there were no personal computers when they were in high school.) . . . There are tens of thousands of kids worldwide gaining the "deliberate practice" golf experience - so glory and standing out will depend on other factors too.
Gladwell is saying that there isn't anyone that is at the top of any field that doesn't have at least 10,000 hours of experience.
As for golf, there are thousands of talented players with amble experience that aren't on the PGA Tour. (Look at the developmental tours).
As mentioned above, the right practice is critical to the success of this plan, as it would be with any profession. Of course, talent plays a larger role in arts and sport, which can only be learned to a certain degree.
Gladwell's point though is that talent alone isn't enough. That is, even the most naturally gifted golfer on earth needs 10,000 hours of practice to really know what they're doing.
As for the Gladwell hate above from AK, I don't think Gladwell ever sets out to prove any of his theories, he just looks at things from a different perspective and challenges widely accepted beliefs. I don't believe he "makes shit up" to sell books.
-LK
In the end I'd be willing to wager LARGE sums of $$$ that he will not make it to the tour but if he keeps this up for 6 years it will be highly interesting to see how good a player he can become.
Did you all know that Larry Nelson didn't start playing golf until he was 23? (stupid question, I know a lot of you know this!)
Only hustlers (gamblers) make a living playing golf. Tour pros are entertainers.
This guy has a platform (blog), a unique skill (his photography is amazing), a sponsor (Nike), and a speaking engagement under his belt after 1 year.
I promise he'll make a living 'playing' golf if he sticks with it for 5 more years.
"Good on 'em. Wish I had the sack to try it."
Right on.
LiquidKaos aint no bitter, lazy hater like some of you bitter, lazy haters. So it may not work even if everything goes perfect, you only have one life to live, choose well and work hard at what you choose.
That said, I think the 10,000-hours number should be viewed as a necessary but not sufficient condition for achieving mastery.
In my mid-20's I embarked on a similar journey in a different field, and I was ultimately persuaded that talent is also a necessary but not sufficient condition.
I am totally, enthusiastically supportive of the guy, and I'm dying to find out just how good he'll become. If he stays with it, I'd bet he becomes a +1 or +2, a good college-level golfer but perhaps not the best player on a D1 team.
So where's the story in that? 10 years of non-stop practice for that? There are thousands of good college level golfers.
The elite among them had the natural talent PLUS 10,000 hours of working hard to improve their craft. The elite in any field are the "talented" ones that worked harder than all the talented others. In most instances they are also the ones where they were presented an "opportunity" too.
This will be no different.