Natural Born Gifts; your opinion?

[WyrmDL]

Hey TB,

Just something I've been bugged with.

There are some people who say that certain qualities can only be acquired at birth. Say, an angelic voice, or a destructive punch.

What do you think? Is it something you have to be born with, or is it something you can develop?

Thanks in advance!



-Don

[spencer]

I do believe parents can pass gifts down to their kids before birth, sorta like sayin it runs in my blood

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by WyrmDL

Hey TB,

Just something I've been bugged with.

There are some people who say that certain qualities can only be acquired at birth. Say, an angelic voice, or a destructive punch.

What do you think? Is it something you have to be born with, or is it something you can develop?

Thanks in advance!

It depends on what you're talking about. Intelligence has been shown over and over again to be almost entirely genetic. So while parents can nurture it, how intelligent a person is isn't really changeable. Same with many physical characteristics.

People's brains are wired in certain ways and their basic physiology is also genetic. And while both are malleable to varying extents, it means certain people are better predisposed to develop certain skills.

Anybody can lift weights and get bigger and stronger, but your body frame and musculature determines whether you have the capability of being a world class body builder. And everyone can become a skilled musician, but certain people have the fingers, ears and creative minds better suited to being virtuosos.

Likewise with your examples - anybody can improve their singing voice or become a decent boxer but some people are born having the ability to be better. Whether they take advantage and harness those gifts is another question.

That's about the long and short of it.

[XtreO]

Physique is biological. You are born with your voice. I think one can train ones basic abilities from your starting point, but where the limit is very individual.

I agree with the one over me saying some are better to disposed to develop or getb etter at certian skills. But it is not ALL genetics. This applies I guess less for physical stuffz.

[Steveaux]

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

It depends on what you're talking about. Intelligence has been shown over and over again to be almost entirely genetic. So while parents can nurture it, how intelligent a person is isn't really changeable. Same with many physical characteristics.

People's brains are wired in certain ways and their basic physiology is also genetic. And while both are malleable to varying extents, it means certain people are better predisposed to develop certain skills.

Anybody can lift weights and get bigger and stronger, but your body frame and musculature determines whether you have the capability of being a world class body builder. And everyone can become a skilled musician, but certain people have the fingers, ears and creative minds better suited to being virtuosos.

Likewise with your examples - anybody can improve their singing voice or become a decent boxer but some people are born having the ability to be better. Whether they take advantage and harness those gifts is another question.

That's about the long and short of it.

Excellent.

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by Steveaux

Excellent.

Agreed. Outstanding, concise analysis.

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by WyrmDL

Hey TB,

Just something I've been bugged with.

There are some people who say that certain qualities can only be acquired at birth. Say, an angelic voice, or a destructive punch.

What do you think? Is it something you have to be born with, or is it something you can develop?

Thanks in advance!



-Don

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

It depends on what you're talking about. Intelligence has been shown over and over again to be blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah......That's about the long and short of it.

The guy mentions being born with a "destructive punch", possibly the funniest thing I'm going to read this weekend, and you respond with an actual answer? I'm at a loss. Truly.

Mike

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

The guy mentions being born with a "destructive punch", possibly the funniest thing I'm going to read this weekend, and you respond with an actual answer? I'm at a loss. Truly.

Mike

Well, I did think it would be rather gauche for me to mention that I was born with both an angelic singing voice AND a destructive punch. And that's not an exaggeration. People are amazed whenever I showcase either gift. Well, they are probably most amazed by the fact that I so often employ both of them simultaneously.

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

Well, I did think it would be rather gauche for me to mention that I was born with both an angelic singing voice AND a destructive punch. And that's not an exaggeration. People are amazed whenever I showcase either gift. Well, they are probably most amazed by the fact that I so often employ both of them simultaneously.

Interesting. I was born with a destructive singing voice and an angelic punch. It's the family curse, my father says. I sing like Phil Anselmo but punch like Nathan Lane.

Mike

[IconBasser]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

Interesting. I was born with a destructive singing voice and an angelic punch. It's the family curse, my father says. I sing like Phil Anselmo but punch like Nathan Lane.

Mike

Mike, thanks for a good mid-morning laugh.

[iamlowsound]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

The guy mentions being born with a "destructive punch", possibly the funniest thing I'm going to read this weekend, and you respond with an actual answer? I'm at a loss. Truly.

Mike

I am that Mike Tyson was born with the right body type to be able to punch like he can. Sure, there was a lot of training involved, but he was born with the ability that he trained.

lowsound

[L-A]

You can be born with a predisposition for a certain talent. It's a double-edged sword, as it is not necessarily an interest of yours.

I'm great at maths, physics, and logical thinking in general. This caused me to break most of my entourage's expectations when I announced that I took art and design as my field of study. Not that they had anything against it, but never did anyone consider that creative thinking was something more than a side interest for me.

This happened to me on a really small scale, but one could spend the whole day finding people with incredible talents who were pushed on a stage and literally milked.

[Nolifer]

According to my mother, I have a genetic predisposition to become an alcoholic and have very thick glasses later in life.
I agree with the latter claim, not so much with the former.

[WyrmDL]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

The guy mentions being born with a "destructive punch", possibly the funniest thing I'm going to read this weekend, and you respond with an actual answer? I'm at a loss. Truly.

Mike

I was serious about it though

I don't really get what's so funny about that statement

It's just that some people out there say stuff like, "You can train all you want and have the correct technique, but some people are born to have a devastating punch."

Which made me think, say, if two people had the same body build, training, etc, and they could both learn the technique, then what equates to having a punch that only some people can be born with?

[hbarcat]

For the record, a person who is 10% taller than someone else will have about a 50% more powerful punch (all else being equal).

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by WyrmDL

I was serious about it though

I don't really get what's so funny about that statement

It's just that some people out there say stuff like, "You can train all you want and have the correct technique, but some people are born to have a devastating punch."

I should also point out that my grandmother (God rest her soul) had a devastating punch. Truth be told it was just a big glass of vodka on the rocks with a splash of grenadine, but she called it punch and it would knock out all but the most hardened alcoholics.

But if she ever had an angelic singing voice, 45 years of smoking and drinking KO'd that too.

[robass]

I think anyone can develop the mechanics of any skill or art and be competent or even excellent. What truly separates the virtuosos or the iconic individual is some intangible 'it' that has to be a 'nature' rather than a 'nurture'. Perfect example for me would be John Prine - average at best guitar player w/ pretty limited vocal skills, esp. after his throat cancer. Have seen him time after time hold an audience in the palm of his hands and bring them to tears w/ his songs - usually by himself.

I think that in this astral plain that we live in, ALL the information is out there for us to do with what we will, and we're all receivers of it. Some of us are just better radios than others.

[L-A]

Originally Posted by hbarcat

For the record, a person who is 10% taller than someone else will have about a 50% more powerful punch (all else being equal).

So if I'm 30% smaller than you, does my punch propel you forward instead?

[two fingers]

I don't have any science or stats for you. All I know is that I can play bass pretty well. But it took me a long time to get there. My brother, on the other hand, can get his hands on ANY instrument and be PLAYING it by this weekend. Case in point. He NEVER played piano until a few weeks ago. This weekend he played piano and sang at a friends wedding. A few years ago, he bought a sax at a pawn shop. He had NEVER played a woodwind instrument. About 3 months later he was in the horn line of a soul/R&B band and was teaching the tenor guy HIS parts. I think HE was BORN with natural talent when it comes to music.

[two fingers]

Originally Posted by L-A

So if I'm 30% smaller than you, does my punch propel you forward instead?

Ha! Well played.