What is the essence?
The essence of talent is that it presupposes special talent when a person intuitively feels a craving for a certain type of activity .
The presence of such abilities is difficult not to notice, since, even without suitable conditions for this, a person strives at any cost to do what attracts him.
many examples in the history of science when outstanding physicists began their journey by studying glass, biologists were interested in flora and fauna from childhood, and mathematicians simultaneously began to talk and add numbers.
Talented people always stand out among those around them, their talent sooner or later becomes obvious .
What is a person's worldview? Find out about this from our article.
Origin of talent
Are talents present in every person? Are talents innate or acquired? What role do talents play in a person’s life?
The origin of talent has long been the subject of heated debate. It is likely that a person is given some prerequisites for the development of abilities, but the actions for this development depend only on the person himself - on his desires, on the environment.
Imagine - development from a small and helpless child to an independent adult does not take much time. We master walking skills, learn to speak, sing, draw, prove theorems, get a driver's license, give the world children - all these processes happen in just 20-30 years!
If desired, a person can develop any abilities in himself, make his dreams come true, all people have talent in something. The only question is what do we dream about, where are our thoughts directed?
Before you dive into talent discovery, watch this video:
Theory of heredity
Who first tried to substantiate the heredity of talent?
With the beginning of the development of psychology, scientific justifications for such concepts as talent, giftedness, and genius began to appear.
In an effort to identify patterns in the appearance of these qualities, the English anthropologist F. Galton in 1869 published a theory about the heredity of talent.
In his scientific works, he pointed out the inequality of people in mental terms, arguing that a large number of people cannot equally possess outstanding abilities.
Galton believed that heredity played an important role. He managed to find statistical evidence that innate talent is inherited along with physical qualities.
One of the main results of his observations was the conclusion that famous people had well-known relatives.
Inclinations, abilities, giftedness, genius and talent - what's the difference?
There are several related phenomena that determine the presence of abilities.
The inclinations for something indicate that an individual has a certain natural predisposition to some activity, which over time may manifest itself to a greater extent or fade away, depending on the efforts made.
Thus, a person who has the inclination for music learns it more easily than others, since from birth he has good hearing or a large vocal range.
naturally plastic person to engage in dancing or sports.
But all this does not allow us to judge a person’s giftedness, since only in the process of work and training do inclinations become a prerequisite for the development of abilities.
In turn, abilities for something are understood as individual psychological characteristics of a person serving as an integral condition for high-quality performance of a particular type of activity.
A prerequisite for identifying abilities is their individuality, since ordinary human functions, such as speech or work, cannot be called abilities, because they are universal in nature and most people are able to perform them.
Abilities are manifested in how quickly, easily and firmly a person assimilates the knowledge he needs and acquires useful skills.
For example, easy learning to drive a car and quick assimilation of the principles of its operation indicate that a person has the ability to drive.
Giftedness is a complex of natural inclinations that act as one of the conditions for the formation of abilities. The results of observations of gifted children show that they exhibit a strong craving for the activities for which they are capable.
If a child is interested in artistic creativity , the presence of giftedness will be evidenced by: a rich imagination, a sense of beauty, a special vision of the world around him, the ability to capture subtle changes in light and color, and the need for self-expression.
Like abilities, talent only provides an opportunity to achieve success and, under appropriate social and cultural conditions, depends on a lot of intense creative work.
Genius is the highest level of giftedness. It is characterized by high productivity, the creation of something fundamentally new, distinguished by its uniqueness.
Genius is determined not only by the results of work, but also by the strength of perception of the surrounding world, the depth of influence on the feelings and thoughts of other people.
Talent
Talent is a person’s outstanding natural ability to perform in any field, skills that develop with the acquisition of skills and experience. Talent determines a high level of development of special abilities that give a person the opportunity to successfully, independently and originally perform certain complex activities. This combination of abilities allows us to obtain a product of activity that is distinguished by its novelty, high level of perfection and social significance.
The first signs of talent can appear already in childhood, but talent can also appear later. Talent can manifest itself in various spheres of human activity - in music, literature, natural sciences, technology, sports, in organizational and pedagogical activities, in various types of production. The argument that talent cannot be formed in solitude, without communication, without a spiritual environment, is based solely on the centuries-old experience of mankind, and we know of no examples to the contrary.
The combination of abilities, which are the basis of talent, in each case is special, characteristic only of a certain person. The presence of talent should be concluded based on the results of a person’s activity, which should be distinguished by fundamental novelty and originality of approach.
Modern scientists identify certain types of talent that people possess to one degree or another. In the early 1980s, Howard Gardner wrote the book "Frames of Mind." In this book, he identified nine types of talent and intelligence:
- verbal-linguistic (responsible for the ability to write and read, inherent in journalists, writers and lawyers, linguists)
- digital (typical for mathematicians, programmers)
- auditory (musicians, linguists, linguists)
- spatial (inherent in designers and artists)
- physical (athletes and dancers are endowed with it; these people learn more easily through practice)
- personal (also called emotional; responsible for what a person says to himself)
- interpersonal (people with this talent often become politicians, speakers, traders, actors)
- environmental talent (trainers and farmers are endowed with this talent).
- entrepreneurial - talent (the thinking of the new generation, imposed by time and money).
Alternative definition: Talent is the result of experience in a particular field of activity. Does not necessarily appear from birth. Can appear at any time. So many mathematicians work in the humanities. Among them there are successful writers. The great John Nash did not like mathematics as a child, but still later he was called a genius for his achievements in game theory.
Artistic talent and artistic genius
There is a hierarchy of value ranks that characterizes the degree of a person’s predisposition to artistic creativity: ability - giftedness - talent - genius. An artist who is on a higher rung of this creative ladder retains those qualities that are inherent in those who are located on its lower steps, but must have a number of additional advantages.
Artistic talent is creative talent in art. It presupposes the presence of certain physical data: a receptive musical ear for a pianist, a special plasticity of the body for a ballerina, a keen sense of color for a painter, etc. Artistic talent is a productive aesthetic intuition, the power of artistic thinking, active imagination, observation, capacity and mobility of memory , a wealth of emotions. The forms and nature of the coupling of such qualities depend on the personality of the artist, the genre and type of art in which he works. The highest degree of artistic talent is artistic genius. Being an innate ability, creative talent cannot be acquired by professional training and education alone, but without them the full functioning of artistic talent is impossible. The artistic talent of an artist is unthinkable without an individual method and style as stable principles for the artistic embodiment of ideas and plans. The individuality of the artist is manifested not only in the work itself, but also exists as a prerequisite for the creation of this work. Being a necessary condition for artistic creativity, artistic talent, however, needs constant improvement, in close connection with life, otherwise it may be lost and bled dry. Talent is inseparable from the artist’s worldview and his skill. The actualization and development of talent critically depends on the social environment. The renewal of the social and spiritual life of society creates favorable conditions for the true flourishing of artistic talent, for truly free creativity, and improvement of skill.
Certain eras in the history of human society create the most favorable conditions for the development and realization of artistic talent (classical antiquity, the Renaissance, the Muslim Renaissance in the East). Recognition of the determining importance of socio-economic and political conditions, as well as the spiritual atmosphere in the realization of artistic talent, does not at all mean their absolutization. The artist is not only a product of the era, but also its creator. An essential property of consciousness is not only reflection, but also transformation of reality. For the realization of artistic talent, subjective aspects are of great importance - the ability to work, the artist’s ability to mobilize all his emotional, intellectual and volitional forces.
Artistic genius is the highest degree of creative talent in art; a person who has this talent. His innovation is universally holistic and distinguished by deep originality and enduring aesthetic value. In idealistic aesthetics, the artistic genius is often viewed as a superman, whose nature cannot be comprehended either by himself or by science. The creativity of a great artist does not arise spontaneously and by chance, but is prepared by all previous cultural experience and social practice. Overtaking his era, the artistic genius is at the same time a mouthpiece, an exponent of the ideological and aesthetic needs, views and tastes of the people. His creations are relevant or potentially close to millions of people, they survive their time - this is the highest sociability of a brilliant artist, although he himself sometimes does not receive recognition during his lifetime. As a phenomenon, artistic genius is determined not only by the individual’s exceptional natural abilities for artistic creativity, but also by unusually developed productive intuition and imagination. This is also a huge, all-consuming work, complete dedication, which is poetically accurately expressed by Mayakovsky in relation to verbal creativity: “You exhaust a single word for the sake of a thousand tons of verbal ore.” The creativity of an artistic genius, like talent, is inseparable from the artist’s skill and worldview.
Etymology of the word talent
The word comes from the measure of weight “talent”. In the New Testament there is a parable about three slaves who were given a coin called “talent” by their master. One buried his talent in the ground, the second exchanged it, and the third multiplied it. Hence the three expressions: buried, exchanged and multiplied (developed) his talent. From the Bible, the word “talent” has spread in a figurative sense: as a gift of God, the ability to create, and create something new, without neglecting it. This is innate in a person and manifests itself, if present, throughout life.
Types and examples from life
In the book “The Structure of the Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences” in the early 1980s, Howard Gardner described 7 types of talent . Here is the list:
- Verbal-linguistic talent is a brilliant mastery of writing and speech techniques, expressed by success in journalism, literature and jurisprudence. For example, Vsevolod Ovchinnikov , an outstanding Soviet journalist and orientalist, has a pronounced verbal and linguistic talent; his most interesting journalistic essays and literary works serve as proof of this. Gloria Aldred is a famous American lawyer, one of the world's five most successful lawyers and also endowed with this type of talent. In ordinary life, it manifests itself by writing poetry, good oratory skills; such people have beautiful, competent speech, write fascinating essays, and know how to use techniques of verbal and non-verbal communication.
- Digital Talent - Outstanding mathematical ability. The greatest mathematician in human history is Leonhard Euler , who combined algebra, analysis and trigonometry, linking them with general theories and laws.
Such talent manifests itself when a person easily handles numbers, complex calculations are not difficult for him, he finds logical connections where they do not seem obvious to others. - Spatial - possession of architectural and artistic abilities. The standout winner is Antonio Gaudi i Cornet , a Spanish architect whose work balances between madness and genius. He managed to capture and combine the most daring architectural forms. Spatial talent is possessed by artists, draftsmen, designers, and people who have excellent spatial thinking.
- Physical talent is determined by a penchant for sports: LeBron James , American basketball player, Tiger Woods - American golfer, Usain Bolt - record holder, track and field athlete from Jamaica - are the undoubted owners. All these people are endowed with natural plasticity, endurance and physical strength; they tolerate stress more easily and achieve good results faster.
- Personal talent is a tendency to develop the inner world, the personality of an individual. Such people reflect a lot, often immerse themselves in themselves, and practice meditation. They easily master spiritual practices and achieve success in personal growth and development.
- Interpersonal - involves interaction with other people.
The main qualities here are: charisma, empathy, the ability to find a common language with almost any person. Such talent can be possessed by public figures, psychologists, those people whose work is related to interpersonal contacts; it is easy for them to understand people, they feel their mood, and know how to find an approach. - environmental talent ; they love to care for plants, get along easily with animals, and can sense their needs on an intuitive level. This type of talent was possessed by Kathleen Drew-Baker , a British agronomist, thanks to her work on the study of marine flora and fauna, it was possible to establish the production of nori seaweed, a main component of Japanese cuisine.
Talent and genius
Creative personality , talent , genius are the ascending stages of a person’s intellectual and creative development, a measure of evaluation of his achievements. Genius is always talent, its most complete and profound manifestation. But at the same time, not every talent is a genius.
At present, the question of the boundary between genius and talent remains open.
The difficulty of determining the line where talent ends and genius begins was once discussed by F. A. Brockhaus. In the article “genius” it is said about these attempts: “Genius as the highest degree of giftedness, compared with talent as the lowest, is not subject to precise definition; the distinction itself is arbitrary, attempts at strict differentiation are arbitrary and their application is controversial.”
The oldest universal encyclopedia, The new Encyclopaedia Britannica, notes: “Genius differs from talent both quantitatively and qualitatively. Talent means an innate aptitude for certain special activities and implies the relatively quick and easy acquisition of special skills. Genius includes originality, creativity, and the ability to think and work in areas not previously explored and thus give the world something meaningful that could not otherwise be mastered."
Originality of genius
The most significant thing that distinguishes them is the originality of the genius, his undeniably innovative character. I. Kant in his time Fr. Although many talented people bring a lot of new things into the areas in which they worked, in terms of the significance and volume of the new contribution this is not comparable to a genius, whose thoughts and deeds are the starting points for the activities of entire generations of creators.
However, originality in itself initially meant little. This fact was noted by the German philosopher and sociologist of the last century T. Adorno. In his work “Aesthetic Theory,” he wrote that the question of the originality of works in the distant past was meaningless, since “the power of the collective consciousness was so great that originality, the prerequisite of which is something like an emancipated subject, would look like an anachronism.”4 According to T. Adorno, original is an objective definition that can be given to any work. However, as the autonomy of art grew, originality “made a protest against the market, in which it did not receive the right to cross a certain value threshold.” Gradually, it changes qualitatively: from the originality of an individual work, the emphasis moves to the creation of new types of works, to their invention.
The originality of a genius does not lie only in the originality of the form of creativity, although this is quite common, especially among artists, not in the originality of the layout or presentation of the material, not in the originality of the methodology and unusual selection of facts, but, above all, in a new interpretation of the most essential aspects of existence, its properties, its diversity. Originality, first of all, consists in conveying one’s own vision, independent of the spirit of the times and authorities.
Universalism of genius
The idea of the versatility of the personality and creativity of a genius belongs to the representatives of the Renaissance, and we can also find it in G. Hegel: “Talent is a specific ability, and genius is a universal ability.” Talent is the ability to achieve the highest mastery and virtuosity in a certain area. A genius is rarely one-sided, since he has the ability to see phenomena in their close interconnection. “Genius, in which “I” is everything, penetrates with its gaze the nature and life of all beings as a whole, notices all connections and connections and creates knowledge that is not made up of separate parts,” notes O. Weininger.
The universalism of genius has two main dimensions, closely related to each other. The first dimension is the depth of penetration into various fields of activity, and geniuses of this type are extremely rare. Often their list is limited to the names: Leonardo da Vinci, R. Descartes, G. Leibniz. B. Pascal, I. Goethe, M. E. Chevreul, M.V. Lomonosov. Much more common is a combination of genius abilities in related fields. An example from the field of science can be I. Newton, known as an outstanding mathematician, mechanic, and astronomer. From the field of art - the sculptor, painter, poet Michelangelo, as well as I. Bach, who, according to the researcher of his work S. A. Morozov, “was a performer and composer, an inventor and a master, versed in the laws of acoustics.”
The second dimension of universalism is such a quality of worldview and creativity, which is characterized by the ability to grasp the rhythm, harmony and essence of the universe, to comprehend the often hidden natural connection of causes and effects, to determine the dominant direction in the development of science, art, spiritual life in general and to respond to all this with one’s creativity. Dante Alighieri, W. Shakespeare, J. Kepler, Rembrandt, L. Beethoven, O. Rodin, C. Darwin, F. Chopin, B. Shaw, P. Picasso, A. Einstein had this kind of universality.
What does it mean to be a talented person?
Talented people have a special view of the world around them ; they are less interested in everyday activities.
A person who has a talent for something will feel a constant need to engage in this type of activity.
Such people are a little out of touch with reality , as they are often immersed in their imagination, in the creative process.
How to get people interested in you? Find out the answer right now.
In conclusion
Talent is like a torch that illuminates our existence, because the work in which we are talented will always bring pleasure and true joy. Unfortunately, life circumstances sometimes force you to turn away from this light, but, what’s even worse, over time it can fade away. So remember, you can always rekindle that fire. The main thing is to be able to see it. Then it will warm your existence and illuminate the paths of life.
We wish you good luck!
I have no talents: what should I do?
Talent is not inherent in all people, this is what determines its uniqueness , however, the inclinations or abilities for something, to one degree or another, can be found in a fairly large number of people.
Therefore, it is worth analyzing whether a person has a craving for something or whether some type of activity is easy . Almost every person can prove himself in at least one area.
How to find it?
It is worth paying attention to those types of activities for which a special inclination is manifested.
And even if you couldn’t find them, by expanding your horizons, you can often identify areas for development.
By finding new activities, you may find that you can perform some types of creativity or science easier and more productively. The main signs will be inspiration and a desire to do this for the majority of your free time.
How to develop it?
How to become a talented person? Developing talent is hard, constant work .
Therefore, having discovered the ability to sing , it is best to start studying with a vocal teacher.
The acquisition of skills contributes to the best manifestation of talent, when, having sufficiently mastered the art, a person can obtain high-quality results. Even a talented singer is forced to constantly train his voice and ear so as not to lose shape.
If a person likes to cook , he can cultivate his culinary talent: find new recipes, educational videos, learn cooking techniques on his own or with the help of more experienced chefs.
If you have technical aptitude , you can take online programming courses; For those who love photography , use the Internet to learn how to take and process photographs.
You can even become a talented makeup artist or stylist by studying magazines and reviews from video bloggers. You need to allow yourself to do what you like, not be afraid of wasted time and possible failure, since creativity is always a pleasant process.
How to become an egoist or an egoist in a rational form? You will find expert recommendations on our website.
Maybe it's hidden?
Sometimes a person does not immediately find what he is good at. So, without using a camera, he may not know about his talent for photography. And vice versa, after taking a few photographs, he feels that this is the activity he has a special inclination for, and this is what he does best.
Thus, only after serving in the army, some people become talented shooters. In all these cases we are talking about hidden talents.
Therefore, the only way to discover them is to constantly try something new: the ease of learning, inspiration and quick results will help you understand that the movement is in the right direction.
Giftedness
Giftedness or general giftedness is the level of development of any human abilities.
The concept as such was first formulated in the mid-19th century by the English psychologist Francis Galton. During the analysis, “ artistic ” and “ practical ” talents . Early manifestation of abilities indicates giftedness. B. M. Teplov defined giftedness as “a qualitatively unique combination of abilities, on which the possibility of achieving greater or lesser success in performing a particular activity depends.” At the same time, giftedness is understood not as a mechanical set of abilities, but as a new quality, born in the mutual influence and interaction of the components that make up it. Giftedness does not ensure success in any activity, but only the opportunity to achieve this success. In addition to having a set of abilities, to successfully perform an activity a person must have a certain amount of knowledge, skills and abilities. In addition, it should be noted that giftedness can be special - that is, giftedness for one type of activity, and general - that is, giftedness for different types of activity. Often general talent is combined with special talent. Many composers, for example, had other abilities: they painted, wrote poetry, etc.
Today, researchers point to the need to distinguish between intellectual and creative abilities and conclude that 60-80% of intelligence depends on heredity, and 20-40% is determined by the environment, creativity, on the contrary, is determined by 60-80% by training and upbringing, and heredity - by 20-40%. Taking into account the fact that genius is primarily creative, and talent is intellectual, we can talk about the inheritance of talent, on the basis of which a genius can grow.
