An Analysis Of Maria Konnikova's 'Practice Makes Perfect'

“Practice makes perfect” is a very popular phrase. One has to work hard in order to be the best; the best pianist, the best gymnast, the best artist. Zach Hambrick, however, does not agree with that popular phrase. In Maria Konnikova’s article Practice Doesn’t Make Practice, she writes about how Hambrick decided to test to see if practice really does make perfect or if it is one’s DNA that actually does it. Konnikova, a psychologist and writer, takes her readers through Hambrick’s process of researching whether practice really does make perfect. Hambrick first ran into questioning this popular phrase when he had the dream of becoming a professional golfer. He learned quickly he was not as good as the other golfers so he practiced and practiced.

effort” (Konnikova). Hambrick is not the only one to look into answering this question. Way before him, there was Francis Galton who positioned that genius runs in the family. His exact view does not exist today due to how extreme is was, but it does guide modern research. Recent studies show that training is everything and genetics does not matter with an exception of body size and height. Ericcson told Konnikova, “He told me he had yet to encounter someone presenting him with evidence that anything other than practice matters. (He did, in a later conversation, add that the age at which one begins practicing can make a difference in someone’s achievement level)” (Konnikova). Hambrick, on the other hand, still did not accept that and continued to research how important practice is to an individual. He concluded, “People do have natural ceilings to their talent in any given

“We cannot predict with accuracy who will become élite in a given field, but we know that genes and environment matter and that we all have different natural peaks that we can reach through application and training.” To lead her readers to this conclusion, she took her readers through the research process and the different sides of the debate. She skillfully write in an orderly fashion making it easy to follow and to understand what her intent was. Her intended audience would be athletes, musicians, and anyone interested in achieving their highest potential. Also, anyone interested in the old debate of nature vs nurture would also be interested in reading this article since she uses it in order to discover if practice makes perfect. Instead of it being one or the other, the conclusion came to be, that both nature and nurture plays a role in a person’s ability to reach his greatest