LESSONS ON EXCELLENCE

HSSTS101_121_0717

What does it say?

 Malcolm states that it takes about 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert at any competition, from violin
to basketball to Halo.
 It was a powerful idea, based on several studies, and put some evidence behind the "practice makes perfect"
argument for any skill.
 Here, the goal is not to work continuously, to finish the 10k hour quota, but to stick on to a systematic practice
with an objective of improving performance every time.
 It isn’t just about 10,000 hours of doing the activity; it’s 10,000 hours of what Ericsson calls “deliberate practice.”
 According to the paper, “deliberate practice is a highly structured activity, the explicit goal of which is to
improve performance.”
 Deliberate practice consists of specific training activities, drills, and exercises designed to stretch the
individual’s skills and thereby provide growth.

THE CONVERSE:

 Though Malcolm supported his ideas with numerous experiments, it was never enough for some critics, one
important critic being David Epstein.
 David Epstein in his new book ‘The Sports Gene’, thoroughly disproved the theory.
 Practice is important, of course, but when it concerns physical activities, some people hold unfair advantage
compared to others owing to their better physique, inherited in their genes.
 For example, Jamaicans dominate sprinting, Kenyans excel at long distance track, and tall people are much
more likely to make it to the NBA, according to the book.
 Epstein also notes that the world's best in high jump, darts, and track don't need nearly 10,000 hours of
practice. It's in the genes, he argues.

TO PRACTISE OR NOT TO PRACTISE?

 Gladwell came with the defence for his theory, where he states, "Epstein has written a wonderful book. But I
wonder if, in his zeal to stake out a provocative claim on this one matter, he has built himself a straw man."
 Because, Gladwell only applied the 10,000-hour rule to cognitively demanding activities that needed significant
thought, unlike those runners and dart-throwers.
 Gladwell has defended the 10,000-hour rule, arguing that the rule applies to cognitively demanding tasks
such as playing chess or the violin and not to domains that rely on mostly physical attributes, such as the
runners and long-jumpers cited by most critics.

SESSION – 7
HABIT FORMATION

What is a habit?

A habit is
• A regularly repeated behavior pattern
• An action or pattern of behavior that is repeated so often that it becomes typical, although the person may be
unaware of it.

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LESSONS ON EXCELLENCE

HSSTS101_121_0717

Intuitionism does not mean that all moral decisions are reached by relying on intuition. Intuition enables the
discovery of the basic moral truths, and everyday moral decision-making then involves thinking about the choices
available and making moral judgements in an ordinary sort of way.

Jonathan Haidt has identified four categories of ethical intuitions:

1. Harm/care: Not wanting to harm others, caring for others, compassion. The prohibitions against killing and
stealing enter in this category.

2. Fairness/reciprocity: Wanting an equal share, fair trades, just outcomes, and so on. This is the origin of
egalitarian commitments.

3. In-group loyalty: Following the obligations of in-group membership so that the group can benefit, such as self-
sacrifice and ferreting out freeloaders and traitors.

4. Respect for authority: Following one’s proper place and role in social hierarchies, obeying orders, respecting
one’s superiors.

CONSEQUENTIALISM

It is the doctrine that the morality of an action is to be judged solely by its consequences.

Consequentialism is the class of normative ethical theories holding that the consequences of one's conduct are the
ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct.

An action is the right thing to do in certain circumstances if, of all the actions available in those circumstances, it
would produce the best outcome.

A consequentialist theory of value judges the rightness or wrongness of an action based on the consequences that
action has. The most familiar example would be utilitarianism--``that action is best that produces the greatest good for
the greatest number'' (Jeremy Bentham).

A non-consequentialist theory of value judges the rightness or wrongness of an action based on properties intrinsic to
the action, not on its consequences.

Example

Mr. Ravi bought ice cream for his daughter to surprise her; unfortunately she caught cold and sore throat.

Though Ravi’s intention and action were good, the consequence was bad, so, according to the consequentialism
concept, his action is considered bad.

Virtue Ethics

Virtue Ethics (or Virtue Theory) is an approach to Ethics that emphasizes an individual's character as the key
element of ethical thinking, rather than rules about the acts themselves (Deontology) or their consequences
(Consequentialism).

Example

Mr. Suresh was driving a Motor Cycle, parallel to him was a motorist whose shawl was about to get caught on the mud
guard, he didn’t warn her of the impending danger. Luckily, she didn’t meet with an accident.

But still, his act of negligence is ethically bad according to virtue ethics, though there is no hard and fast rule to inform
her, nor was there any bad consequence.

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