The Road To Excellence: the Acquisition of Expert Performance in the Arts and Sciences, Sports, and Games

Is the highest level of expertise attributable to innate talents or to hard work? K. Anders Ericsson, the editor of the book declared that "experts are always made , not born". "With the exception of some sports, no characteristic of the brain or body constrains an individual from reaching an expert level." According to Ericsson's research, people who reach the peak practice differently from people who stagnate. Here, the same amount of time put in does not mean the same quality of experience gained. Deliberate practice is Ericsson's big idea. It is the "practice that focuses on tasks beyond your current level of competence and comfort." "When most people practice, they focus on the things they already know how to do. Deliberate practice is different. It entails considerable, specific, and sustained efforts to do something you can't do well--or even at all." It demands high concentration, and much reflection and feedback analysis. And it is important to "identify the aspects of your performance that will need to be improved at your next level of skill". The book is a collection of 15 academic papers for a symposium on "The acquisition of expert performance: Implications for optimal professional development". The studies of the expert performance in the book range from disciplines in arts and science, sports and games. With many regression equations, data tables, and data graphs, it is not a leisure read. However, the topic is immensely interesting to me and I think it's well worth the time to digest the information.

I'm not done reading it, but it's painful all the way, but painful in the way of the detail. I'm sure if you try hard enough you could figure this stuff out on your own, like people have done for thousands of years, but to see it there in front of you, it's a real short cut for getting to doing what you're trying to do. It's not some lame motivational book like if some nobody wrote, "How to be Successful," in the hopes of being successful by selling it. No, this is real science. It's doesn't tell you what to do at all, and the language is all technical like a robot, because they're psychologists and that's how psychologists talk, I guess, but it's living robot-matter, and they're talking about what they're doing, which is doing things, so there's a reflective aura all around the words, because it's a meta-subject. This is the subject of all subjects.

This is an amazing book. . It covers skill mastery in many domains (golf, wrestling, chess, music), showing the commonalities that lie at the heart of exceptional, as apposed to average, performance (e.g. consistent, focused practices over years characterized by high quality feedback, the need for the individual to master self-regulation if he or she wants to increase skill over time, etc.) It also provides a cautionary tale, in the form of a golf pro who developed exceptional skill but who never achieved the type of fame or wealth of say a Jack Nicholas. Why? Because skill too narrowly defined, no mater how great, does not lead to achievement. You have to take in the total context (social, political, etc) if you want your "skill" to lead to widespread recognition. At least that's what I took away from my reading. While the book doesn't lay out an explicit "blue print" for applying it's information, it is still a wonderful resource for trainers or teachers looking to develop high level instruction and to mentor those pursuing peak performance.

Having been an educator physician for some time, Dr. Ericsson reveals the nature of expertise as opposed to good, OK, mediocre, learners. He also lends insight into the difference between casual practice and dedicated or focused practice - which is the key to mastery. Anyone who wishes to be the best learner or the best teacher should read this book - every year.