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Discussing the origins of extraordinary athletic performance with David Epstein

Bestselling author David Epstein discusses research on the complex interplay of nature and nurture in sports, how mentality propels success, how we assess potential, sex differences in sport, and why getting older doesn't mean we can't achieve greatness.

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American


Bestselling author David Epstein discusses research on the complex interplay of nature and nurture in sports, how mentality propels success, how we assess potential, sex differences in sport, and why getting older doesn’t mean we can’t achieve greatness.

In this episode you will hear about:


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  • Baselines abilities vs. trainability

  • Common mistakes we make when judging potential

  • Genetic and other biological contributions to performance

  • The importance of self-reflection and personal accountability for development

  • How a vision of your future self can encourage goal realization

  • Sex differences at the highest levels of sport

  • Explaining cultural differences in performance

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Resources:

David’s website

David’s book: The Sports Gene

The importance of falling in love with something- E. Paul Torrance

Groningen talent studies – Characteristics of talented soccer players

“David Epstein writes about sports science and medicine, Olympic sports, and is an investigative reporter. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Discover, Scientific American, Slate, The Washington Post, British GQ, National Geographic and The Guardian, among other publications. David has given lectures about the science of high performance on five continents, including a 2014 TED Talk. He is also very good at catching marshmallows in his mouth.” –blurb taken from http://thesportsgene.com

Scott Barry Kaufman is a humanistic psychologist exploring the depths of human potential. He has taught courses on intelligence, creativity and well-being at Columbia University, N.Y.U., the University of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. He hosts the Psychology Podcast and is author and/or editor of nine books, including Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization, Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind (with Carolyn Gregoire), and Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined. Find out more at http://ScottBarryKaufman.com. In 2015 he was named one of "50 groundbreaking scientists who are changing the way we see the world" by Business Insider. He wrote the extremely popular Beautiful Minds blog for Scientific American for close to a decade. Follow him on X.

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