Matthew Syed

Matthew Syed is an ex-British table tennis Olympian turned motivational speaker / journalist / writer. In this book he looks at the culture of success, particular amongst sporting elite, examining what separates those at the peak of their game (in whatever context) from the rest of us mere mortals.

Whilst I was initially concerned that a lot of the book could probably be summed up in a couple of pages (i.e. that talent matters much less than putting in the effort - a minimum of 10 years of dedicated focus), Syer does delve into several interesting sub-topic areas across his chapters, such as debunking the myth of child prodigies (again, it's all about thousands of hours of practice), the role the brain has in hardwiring complex sporting or musical pieces so that the sum of the parts become subconscious actions (and how 'choking' can occur when these elements become separated under stress), the psychology of how the best coaches most effectively praise the talent they're working with (and how this translates to education as well, with transformational results when comparing praise for effort versus intelligence) and the placebo effect, in particular how religious faith can have a placebo effect on settling athletes' nerves before big games.

The final chapter was also very interesting - debunking the theory of why black athletes are considered superior runners. Syers examines how racial stereotyping comes into generalisations about long-distance runners being 'east Africans' and sprinters 'west Africans', and how scientific research has shown that when top athletes from small hot spots of sporting success were gene tested, there was much more gene variation than expected, even within small towns. The evidence Syer finds from studies puts forward a counter argument to genetic physical advantage, i.e. that unequal opportunity is much more likely to play into black dominance of running events. In some African and Caribbean countries, running is the sport with the lowest economic barrier to entry, and in one particular hot spot town for long-distancing running in Kenya it was found that most of the top athletes from that area had to run in excess of 20km per day just to attend school (and also at high altitude).

All in all an enjoyable read with lots of interesting stories to back up Syer's arguments. Ultimately, however, it seems to mostly be intense dedication to practice that separates the wheat from the chaff.

4 hours - an interesting insight into how top talent is made, not born.… (more)

An enjoyable and interesting book on the subject of nature vs. nurture. The author examines the now well known "ten thousand hours of practice" rule of expertise, using both anecdotes and research, and shows that it seems to apply even to so-called prodigies. He also examines the psychological aspects of performance and how it applies to both success and "choking".

There may not be, as critics have pointed out, anything totally new or revelatory here. But it is well presented and easy to read, and a somewhat compelling introduction to the topic. The final two chapters, dealing with doping and racial issues, seem a little out of place. But they do not overly detract from the overall message.… (more)