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> >I don't think it's "arbitrary" and there are a lot of >different ways in which one could have talent, including >physical gifts like height, build, size of hands, etc, along >with stuff like speed, strength and coordination.
I meant "arbitrary" in the sense that the game does not measure universal human skill and accomplishment.
> >Yes I think Erving could compete today without question and no >I don't think he played in an era where guys were especially >small. They didn't lift weights and shit like today, but >obviously he would have modern training and injury prevention >available to him.
I beg to differ.
http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/multimedia/photo_gallery/1202/julius.erving.rare.photos/images/erving-umass.jpg
Come on. Dr J was a giant among players that wouldn't even make professional college teams these days. Sheeit, they probably couldn't hang with some of today's high school players.
> >The point is that he had a ton of talent that was very rare >and without it there is no way he could have accomplished all >he did. Yes, there are ways he could have accomplished much >less despite his talent, but that doesn't mean it didn't >*exist*
He had physical qualities his opponents could not compete in the confined restraints of the game.
> >There is no sport, absolutely none, where I could develop the >same level of aptitude as Dr J. There have been a good number >of professional basketball players with my same height, I >wouldn't say that is what is stopping me. There are tons of >people in other sports like hockey and football that are my >size. The bottom line is that I just do not have the athletic >ability, the *talent* to be a professional in any sport. That >is true of the overwhelming majority of people.
To be honest, I find it a bit uninspiring that you write yourself off so quickly. There have been so many individuals who have overcome the very same odds you have placed before yourself with hard work and dedication. You should read up on Self Fulfilling Prophecies. The mind is a powerful tool, and it can literally bend and shape your reality according to your inclination. You have chosen to shape your reality with the idea that you do not have any athletic ability, and thus, you will never strive to reach it, and so it becomes true.
> >Yeah, those guys (Mozart, Chopin, et al) and the record >holders all had *talent*, too. That is what I am trying to say >here, you can work until your fingers bleed and your brain >falls out, if you don't have the talent to succeed, it ain't >gonna happen.
Totally untrue. I am a piano player. I have studied and played Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, etc. It really just takes hard work, and the passion to do it. I have been working on one Chopin piece for quite some time, and even though it seemed impossible at first, it is coming together. You also have to realize they lived in a different socioeconomic climate than we do. They were not distracted by video games, television, sports, etc. Have you ever gone on tours of Victorian homes? The center piece of the most fabulous rooms was not a big screen plasma, but a piano. That was their "fun". They excelled in the classical arts because that is what was cool.
I bet you if Mozart spent 10 years playing Madden, he wouldn't be as good as some of the kids these days, but without hard work and practice, he would eventually get there.
~Experience is the currency of the soul.
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