Discover Your One Talent: Piano Prodigy

[GCT]

Some people are just plain extraordinary, beyond gifted regarding a particular level of talent...naturals. If you had one talent, if you could be distinguished in one thing...what would it be? That is which of the following would you choose to be extraodinary so much as that you would be completely satisfied with possessing such an ability, in and of itself.

-piano prodigy, being able to play beautiful, masterful, magical piano pieces as well as being able to spontaneously compose a piece

-an extraordinary mathematical/logical talent

-other scientific talent

-athletic ability, e.g. "absolutely incredible" AI, Allen Iverson, dazzling fans

-Incredible writing talent

-other musical talent

or any others if you care to add

I think that I would pick the piano category

 

[JamesU]

I have a talent!?

 

[Math Is Hard]

I would love to have a beautiful singing voice.

 

[yourdadonapogostick]

i have no talent

 

[fileen]

being talented can suck you know. once people realize that you can do things very very well, are very smart, well they raise their expectations. I am a very talented horse back rider. I have coaches that want me to compete like mad, and push my own and my horses limits. I just want to ride. I love to ride. I don't want to compete. its a constant battle with my coaches. luckily I have good parents who don't push me. I can't imagine dealing with pressure from parents.

 

[Moonbear]

I think I'd enjoy being a talented writer. Someone who could write wonderful novels that people just can't put down as they get lost in a fictional world.

 

[gonpost]

I'd really like to be able to read people well though...I mean really read their thoughts, be able to tell all about them after a 5 minute discussion...

Heck while I'm at it we can go about our own talents... I'm not sure if this qualifies as a talent, but I'm very good at video games.

Any game I've ever played, if you give me a little time and practice, I always become one of the best players of that game there are...for instance AOE II and Tribes 2, I'm nearly unbeatable in both of those games...

I've also got a rather quick reaction time, I've found that out while doing fake sword fights and what-not with friends.


But as far as any "real" talents...not sure...I'm smart, but I haven't found my niche yet. I'm pretty good at computers but then again that's just knowledge, not a natural inclination, or "talent".

 

[BicycleTree]

I see logic-math talent as the only real form of intelligence--the highest-level intelligence for which all other intelligences are mere skills. So, for that and other reasons (what you could do with such a talent), that would be my choice.

 

[BicycleTree]

Sure, some people might want to be able to play the piano or write a novel... but these are recreational talents. They might be pleasant, but they wouldn't change your life as much as logic-math talent could do.

Actually, if it were an option, I would take mystical insight as my talent. It doesn't get any better than that.

 

[cronxeh]

so can we define talent as a skill within the naturally possible domain that is also shared with a set of other people with same or more talents?

Kind of makes the whole question pointless - if you can achieve it, it won't be called talent - it would be called skill. If you can't achieve it, then I'd call it a supernatural ability - which is not in the domain of talent.

 

[Smurf]

... I seem to have a knack for musical instruments?

 

[TenaliRaman]

I love music and literature. I love to read and as much to write. I used to write plays, short articles and poems. Its all gone now though, my creative skills have died since one quite tragic incident. Maybe i will be inspired again in the future :-/.

-- AI
P.S->I like to argue on many philosophical topics but i came to know that this talent is widely known as "philotrolling" (something like philately?) so i started to curb this talent of mine :p

 

[honestrosewater]

Sure, some people might want to be able to play the piano or write a novel... but these are recreational talents. They might be pleasant, but they wouldn't change your life as much as logic-math talent could do.

I could see a physical v. intellectual distinction, or maybe a creation v. performance distinction. What do you mean by recreational or pleasant talents? Recreational v. professional? Pleasant v. miserable?

 

[Smurf]

Sure, some people might want to be able to play the piano or write a novel... but these are recreational talents. They might be pleasant, but they wouldn't change your life as much as logic-math talent could do.

How are Piano and Writing more recreational and less professional than Logic-Math?

 

[darkar]

I don't have any talent! T.T

But my mom sure has one. Sleep...

 

[Astronuc]

Getting into trouble - especially when I was a kid, then a teenager.

Summertime was especially difficult. Fortunately I had summer programs at university, but there was usually a couple of weeks where I would stumble upon an opportunity to do something really stupid and . . . . my folks were not amused.

 

[brewnog]

Getting into trouble - especially when I was a kid, then a teenager.

Summertime was especially difficult. Fortunately I had summer programs at university, but there was usually a couple of weeks where I would stumble upon an opportunity to do something really stupid and . . . . my folks were not amused.

There are some good stories stories here, I can tell!

You know the rules! Sharey sharey!

 

[Dr.Brain]

I have a talent- I generally disagree with people.

BJ

 

[Lisa!]

There are some good stories stories here, I can tell!

You know the rules! Sharey sharey!

Hey I know some of your talents:
1.good at telling lies!
2.good at praising yourself(this requires your first talent)!
3.levelheaded in difficult situation like losing your cat...

 

[Lisa!]

I have a talent- I generally disagree with people.

BJ

Exactly, Dr wetblancket!

 

[brewnog]

Hey I know some of your talents:
1.good at telling lies!
2.good at praising yourself(this requires your first talent)!
3.levelheaded in difficult situation like losing your cat...

Me? Lies?!

I'm not really that good at praising myself, I prefer to think of it as honesty. In fact, I reckon I'm the most modest person in the UK.

Anyway, I have load of skills. You know, like nunchuck skills, bowstaff skills, computer hacking skills… Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.

 

[Lisa!]

Me? Lies?!

I'm not really that good at praising myself, I prefer to think of it as honesty. In fact, I reckon I'm the most modest person in the UK.

Anyway, I have load of skills. You know, like nunchuck skills, bowstaff skills, computer hacking skills… Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.

Ok, now I'm sure I was right!

 

[Lisa!]

I forgot to say sth:may I ask you how many girlfriends you have?

 

[Smurf]

Don't forget to ask him about the wolverine hunting he did in Alaska last summer. Say brewnog, what kind of gun did you use?

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I personally don't have anyone skill that I excel at. I'm a bit of a jack of all trades and I kinda like it that way.
I would love to be a writer though. Those who have influenced me most through my life have been writers. Literature and art are the two things closest to my heart. I would have to say that I can't agree with BicycleTree's idea that these things aren't important. If that is your own personal inclination I respect that but it's always good to remember that is your own personal view.

 

[BicycleTree]

I could see a physical v. intellectual distinction, or maybe a creation v. performance distinction. What do you mean by recreational or pleasant talents? Recreational v. professional? Pleasant v. miserable?

How are Piano and Writing more recreational and less professional than Logic-Math?

Recreational talents are valuable to others only for recreation; they don't accomplish any real results. You can't build a better engine by playing the piano.

But what I also meant was that piano and writing are done more often for recreation. It is pleasurable to play the piano or write. Sure, it can be pleasurable to do logic and math as well, but they are often more "active" and there is frequently the other interest of accomplishing some goal, making logic-math often not a purely recreational activity.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Recreational talents are valuable to others only for recreation; they don't accomplish any real results. You can't build a better engine by playing the piano.

But what I also meant was that piano and writing are done more often for recreation. It is pleasurable to play the piano or write. Sure, it can be pleasurable to do logic and math as well, but they are often more "active" and there is frequently the other interest of accomplishing some goal, making logic-math often not a purely recreational activity.

The results of artistic persuits are definitely most often less tangible but that doesn't make them any less valuable, or the results less real.
And, actually, the most intense amounts of logic I use are generally for a recreational purpose. I play chess and go among other strategy games. I also like logic puzzles and cryptograms.

 

[Smurf]

Not to mention the intense difficulty of actually understanding Music Theory

 

[brewnog]

Recreational talents are valuable to others only for recreation; they don't accomplish any real results. You can't build a better engine by playing the piano.

But what I also meant was that piano and writing are done more often for recreation. It is pleasurable to play the piano or write. Sure, it can be pleasurable to do logic and math as well, but they are often more "active" and there is frequently the other interest of accomplishing some goal, making logic-math often not a purely recreational activity.

So, nothing of any real use can be accomplished by writing?

Normally, in these circumstances, I advise people to remove their head from, urm, the sand.

 

[Evo]

I would like to be coordinated enough to play video games.

I'm trying to learn to play World of Warcraft with my oldest daughter (the spawn of Evo). We created my character last night (I'm a Tauren Druid ) and I went on my first quest. I had to get meat and feathers for my tribe. I left the hut and ran directly into a firepit.

 

[brewnog]

I'm a Tauren Druid and I went on my first quest. I had to get meat and feathers for my tribe. I left the hut and ran directly into a firepit.

You ought to get onto our desert island!

 

[BicycleTree]

So, nothing of any real use can be accomplished by writing?

Normally, in these circumstances, I advise people to remove their head from, urm, the sand.

Anyone who was actually paying attention and not merely trying to take pot-shots at me would remember that the writing in question here is novel-writing.

 

[Evo]

You ought to get onto our desert island!

I'd just sink the island.

 

[brewnog]

Anyone who was actually paying attention and not merely trying to take pot-shots at me would remember that the writing in question here is novel-writing.

Entertainment is a crucial part of human life, whether it be the reading of literature, listening to music, or viewing works of art.

 

[BicycleTree]

Obviously you were originally referring to politically influential writing, because only if you were talking about such truly important writing would you "advise people to remove their head from, urm, the sand."

I don't believe for a minute that you were actually talking about "entertainment [as] a crucial part of human life." But since I don't have any positively incriminating evidence, I must apologize for my hasty condemnation.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Entertainment is a crucial part of human life, whether it be the reading of literature, listening to music, or viewing works of art.

Exactly. I myself have argued the importance of technology and logic with those that have said culture and art were more important to human civilization. I think they are both just as important.

 

[honestrosewater]

Recreational talents are valuable to others only for recreation; they don't accomplish any real results. You can't build a better engine by playing the piano.

So you are dismissing all arts and humanities as just fun and games.?

But what I also meant was that piano and writing are done more often for recreation. It is pleasurable to play the piano or write. Sure, it can be pleasurable to do logic and math as well, but they are often more "active" and there is frequently the other interest of accomplishing some goal, making logic-math often not a purely recreational activity.

But you've just said that the goal of some activities is recreation and pleasure. Any activity can have a goal. So what makes the goals of math and logic- and, presumably you would put science in this category as well- different from the goals of the arts and humanities? They can all be done because it's pleasurable to do them. They can all be done to gain and share knowledge; Do you find a certain kind of knowledge more worthwhile than others?

 

[BicycleTree]

All arts and humanities are mere recreation. I wouldn't call them "fun and games."

The goal of enjoyment is a different kind of goal from the goals you make when trying to figure something out. When you try to figure something out, you start with your goal and you compare the steps you take to that goal, and alter course appropriately. The goal of recreation has nothing like that seriousness and determination of purpose; to the extent it can be said to be followed, it is followed... well, recreationally.

Yes, I find logic-math knowledge to be more worthwhile than other kinds of knowledge. Logic-math is where you actually can accomplish lasting things. When you make new technology or new ways of coordinating and organizing things, logic-math is the way to do it.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

All arts and humanities are mere recreation. I wouldn't call them "fun and games."

The goal of enjoyment is a different kind of goal from the goals you make when trying to figure something out. When you try to figure something out, you start with your goal and you compare the steps you take to that goal, and alter course appropriately. The goal of recreation has nothing like that seriousness and determination of purpose; to the extent it can be said to be followed, it is followed... well, recreationally.

Yes, I find logic-math knowledge to be more worthwhile than other kinds of knowledge. Logic-math is where you actually can accomplish lasting things. When you make new technology or new ways of coordinating and organizing things, logic-math is the way to do it.

It would seem you don't know much about writers, artists, and the like. Most of them do have a very distinct determination and purpose and take these things very seriously. Quite a good number of the geniuses in history have been artists of various sorts. If you go back to the old great philosophers, the people who began refining math and logic, I think that you will find many of them who saw great importance in the arts. Look at the great artists of the renaissance and how many of them were also chemists, scientists, mathematicians, and inventors.

 

[honestrosewater]

All arts and humanities are mere recreation. I wouldn't call them "fun and games."

I don't even need to look to older or more serious genres to find counterexamples. Even entertainment-driven Hollywood provides several. Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg come to mind as popular Hollywood directors that have used movies to express, communicate, and inform. Have you seen Paths of Glory, Full Metal Jacket, Schindler's List, Amistad, or The Color Purple? Do you think these movies have no purpose other than to entertain? Do you call them mere recreation?
(BTW, if you haven't seen Paths of Glory (it's relatively old- 1957), I highly recommend it.)

 

[brewnog]

I don't even need to look to older or more serious genres to find counterexamples. Even entertainment-driven Hollywood provides several. Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg come to mind as popular Hollywood directors that have used movies to express, communicate, and inform. Have you seen Paths of Glory, Full Metal Jacket, Schindler's List, Amistad, or The Color Purple? Do you think these movies have no purpose other than to entertain? Do you call them mere recreation?

Even studies of History and Geography (both humanities) can provide enourmous amounts of insight into solving many problems with which the world is faced. They are far more than mere entertainment.

 

[rachmaninoff]

Entertainment is a crucial part of human life, whether it be the reading of literature, listening to music, or viewing works of art.

Literature, music, etc. are not necessarily 'entertainment' - you might be confusing them with popular music and supermarket-shelf novels.

 

[rachmaninoff]

All arts and humanities are mere recreation.

Have you read Faulkner's Nobel prize acceptance speech, 1950?

Yes, I find logic-math knowledge to be more worthwhile than other kinds of knowledge. Logic-math is where you actually can accomplish lasting things. When you make new technology or new ways of coordinating and organizing things, logic-math is the way to do it.

And what makes you qualified to say this? Are you both a mathematician and an artist? And since when is technology the one and ultimate purpose of human existence?

 

[brewnog]

Literature, music, etc. are not necessarily 'entertainment' - you might be confusing them with popular music and supermarket-shelf novels.

I completely agree, my point was more that entertainment is pretty crucial.

 

[fileen]

music and art can be very mathematical. escher? istvan orosz? heard of these guys. just few of the many. hey, what about da vinci? he was certainly a mathematical artist!

 

[brewnog]

art can be very mathematical.

Mmmm! Paint by Numbers!

 

[fileen]

try perspective. op art. you are very closed minded.

 

[fileen]

search mathematical art there are artists who specialize

 

[zoobyshoe]

Mmmm! Paint by Numbers!

I did a Monet at age 7. I'm still very proud of it.

 

[Smurf]

My talent is learning. If I want to be able to do something I just concentrate and figure it out. Thats the problem with people today, no one concentrates.