Klimt did the first three when he was 17. There are even earlier works which are not much less sophisticated.

Some people are just prodigies - very, very few, but it's a real phenomenon. Even with early craft training, which people don't get today, exceptional talent still cuts through.

This is why the common "There's no such thing as talent, it's just hard work" line can't possibly be true. It's soothing to believe that you too could be a genius if only you put the hours in, but it just doesn't work like that.

Ability is set by a talent ceiling, which is on a bell curve. "Most people don't reach their ceiling" and "There are extreme outliers of native ability" can both be true at the same time.

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shermantanktop 9 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Along with the self-deluding work=genius idea:

- Some use extreme outliers to justify their own failure to get close to their ceiling. "I can't be Einstein, why should I try?"

- Some (parents, coaches, motivational speakers) also use extreme outliers to claim there are no limits/ceilings for others. "If you can dream it you can do it!" (but somehow it doesn't seem to apply to them)

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davidwritesbugs 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> This is why the common "There's no such thing as talent, it's just hard work" line can't possibly be true.

please stop killing my delusions.

	▲	sph 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		The best essay I read last year described how there are two types of artists: those born with great talent, that usually create their masterpieces in their early 20s and coast for the rest of their life, and those that take most of their adulthood before finding their voice, peaking late in their 40s and 50s. The author used Picasso as an example of the former, and Kurt Vonnegut for the latter. Gave me the greatest impulse to explore my creative drive like nothing else before, after spending my 20s lost in a daze. I know you’re joking, but if you aren’t, do not lose hope yet.