[scarecrow112]

> just a fluke in brain that gave her a prototype math co-processor.

Would a better word of choice be "predisposition to do arithmetic"? I've been wondering the same with artists in general (painters, musicians, etc.). Would a person without the predisposition be able to practice say Piano/Vocals for years together and reach a certain level of artistry? Any reference to academic studies on this would be appreciated.

EDIT: Formatting

[newyankee]

I am pretty confident a lot of extreme outliers do have some innate predisposition in any field. It is such that the world beaters have their talent identified, nurtured and perfected at the right age and an outlet created. Also i think it is considered impolite to completely base our intelligence, understanding or creativity on some natural gift nowadays due to some kind of just world fallacy. Although i am still inclined to personally believe that nurture is more important and you can do many good things reasonably well if your specific talent was nurtured well and you did not have some unfortunate mental deficiency that you were born with. Till recently very few people in the world had the right kind of nurture - education. I had a lot of challenges in some fields when in school, however unlike in the Western world the school system in my location was rigid and i could not improve on my weaknesses.