Talent - this is what?

Among the creative people and critics of different eras and countries, arguably, disputes about the understanding and meaning of the word never stop. Some think that talent is the lot of the elect, God's spark, which arises quite unpredictably and rarely on Earth. Some believe that talent is something that is given to each of us, and any person can reveal his or her unusual abilities in one or another sphere by certain methods, and then develop it correctly with the help of special exercises. Some think that 99% of success depends on this concept, and some that talent is work and daily exercises of 90 percent! Who knows? Maybe the calling is a talent? Let's try to understand this, let's say frankly, a difficult question.

Definition of concept

According to dictionaries and encyclopedias, this word is defined as the presence of certain outstanding abilities in a particular person or group of people. As a rule, they are manifested in the creative achievements of a different kind of arts, professional innovations and the like. So, the rest of society judges the presence of talent, mainly based on the results of the activity. And they, of course, should be innovative, with a fresh and original approach to the topic and material. Different talents can manifest themselves at different ages: from the earliest childhood (a vivid example - Mozart in music), to a rich experience of maturity (for example, many philosophical works).

Congenital or acquired

The opinion, widespread enough: that talent is a consequence and possible result of only congenital and genetically determined abilities of people. The so-called gift. But the many years of experiments and research conducted by some scientists showed that almost every one of us has births from different births of various talents. And already this or that degree of their subsequent development can be caused by education and training. It directly follows that talent is the ability, developed and approved through experience and skill acquisition.

People and animals

Many researchers believe that this concept is inherent only to man. But some people think otherwise. Indeed, in higher mammalian animals, for example, primates or dolphins, tremendous abilities can be identified and developed. What has already been repeatedly proved on various examples and experiments documented. And in India, dolphins are generally officially recognized as a rational race, distinct from human. Probably, all the same talent is not only a human privilege!

Social Characteristics

Be that as it may, a person's talent is, rather, one of his social characteristics, and not a strict scientific definition. It is a purely everyday concept, as there are no definite and clearly verified diagnostic methods for its identification and evaluation. The levels of talent are usually judged by other people surrounding the society. And judgments are formed depending on the products of activity and their novelty. However, over time, assessments of significance may change, and the relevance of creations will be lost, and then oblivion is inevitable, as has happened more than once in the history of mankind: the masters recognized by their era lost all value for descendants.

Etymology

The word itself comes from the name of the measure of weight and monetary unit in Ancient Greece. And in Christianity there is a parable that the owner gave his three slaves a coin-talent. The first buried money. The second - exchanged wealth. The third - multiplied. From here, by the way, then the expressions went: multiply or bury their talent in the ground (as many representatives of humanity do). In the figurative sense of the word: the gift of God, the possibility of creating a new, equal to the Lord himself, who created people in his image and likeness. So, a person has such a privilege - to create and create!

Attempt to classify

In attempts to classify the concept itself, some minds, they say, have broken their heads. While questioning and unsatisfied with such methodologies, one can still cite the example of Howard Gardner's Frames of Mind. In it, the scientist distinguishes nine types of talent inherent in all people.

• Linguistic and verbal. They have many writers and journalists, word masters and pen sharks.
• Talent is digital. It is inherent in programmers and people with a mathematical way of thinking.
• "Aurally". Such a talent is inherent in many musicians, linguists, polyglots.
• Spatial. They have artists and designers.
• Physical. Athletes and, for example, dancers.
• Next are the personal and interpersonal, the talent of the environment and the entrepreneurial talent associated with time management and money.

Of course, such a classification is perceived rather arbitrarily, as the evaluation criteria are the opinions of others, and the evaluation is based mainly on the results presented to the public.

In music

There are quite a few criteria by which one can say: musical talent is a person's ability to remember, repeat, compose a melody and play various musical instruments. As a rule, these abilities are manifested at an early age, extremely early. Sometimes parents do not pay proper attention to the relevant characteristics of the child, and the asterisks go out, and not having to light up. Sometimes - as in the case of Mozart - the talent is intensively developed by the parent, and backed up by knowledge and experience, flares up like the sun!

Sometimes it happens all the way around: adults think the child is genius gifted, in every way indulging him, and thereby destroying his destiny. How to understand this subtle and sensitive issue, because talented children are so vulnerable sometimes? There are simply good musicians, and there are talents close to genius. The latter, as a rule, hear in music much more than an ordinary person, do not imagine life without it, it is their natural and urgent need. If you have a good teacher from almost any kid, you can make a middle-aged musician who understands harmony and notes, able to play from the sheet rather complex works of respected authors. For a genius, learning is not the most important thing (although with an experienced teacher the talent is realized more quickly). Internal motivation, feeling in music, God's gift, desire to improve and develop oneself is important. Often pupils with such qualities are already surpassing their experienced teachers at an early age (and this is typical not only for musical spheres).

How to recognize

It is noted that the child's musical abilities can be recognized by the age of three. It is this that can become the key to the formation of a future talent and even a genius in this field. Researchers, before recording their own child in a genius, are advised to apply several tests that test the child's abilities concerning hearing (of course, musical, not ordinary), sensitivity to rhythm, musical memory. Experienced teachers even have special methods for determining the talents of children at such an early age. They are oriented to the fact that not waiting for the 7-year-old age, when they usually give to music school, to start developing abilities. Who knows, maybe by the age of seven your child will professionally play several instruments and write his own plays, thus proving that musical talent is a feature peculiar to him?

Tests

If there is a musical instrument in the house, for example, a piano (or a toy synthesizer, at last), one can perform one of the simple tests. They are designed to reveal the hidden talent. This is the child's distinction of the pitch of the sound (of course, everything must take place in the form of a game so that the child is interested), its tonality, and the speed of reproduction. You can hit the keys, saying: but as the mouse squeaks, but like a bear goes, but like this - a chanterelle. Asking the baby to then identify these sounds: who is a bear or mouse? It is noted that if a child has a good ear for music, he will be able to determine the difference from the first time in 2-3 years.

Guess the melody and rhythm

Another great "child" test is to guess the baby simple melodies. It is necessary to select several, and each designate a certain picture or object. When playing a note, ask the child to recognize them the next time, pointing to a particular pattern or subject. So you can check the music memory. If recognition occurs quickly, you can talk about the availability of the appropriate talent. A sense of rhythm is tested in a similar way. Just clap your hands in time with the tune. If the baby can repeat the flaps with you next time, then he has a good sense of rhythm.