10-year Rule Research Articles

A Slice of Advice

Every artist was first an amateur. Ralph Waldo Emerson A common idea is that creativity is a gift from the gods. It springs forth in a shower of inspiration. People often point toward the prodigious Mozart, who began his musical career at age 4 and composed his first symphony at age 8, as a prototypical messenger of the gods. What is perhaps not known is that Mozart, like all other creators, spent at least 10 years mastering his domain before producing a significant work (Gardner, 1993; Hayes, 1986). Among chess experts, artists, musicians, and scientists, this 10-year rule is at work. At least a decade of intensive