>> That took more >> than 10,000 hours though:-). (Possibly 50,000 hours +) and she's >> nowhere near as old as that may seem to suggest* . > Assume one eighth of the day is stuff that's not monkey work, that > really needs "expertise" and stretches you. i.e. 1 hr a day > > Assume 240 working days a year. > > 10,000 hrs =3D =A0about 42 years > > If you "really" spend most of your day doing stuff that makes you more > expert, then that's about 5 years. =A0So if she is 50K hrs expert and > *dedicated* and started at age 3 she could be only 27 :) 35 years old. Probably PLAYING the piano at age 3. Utterly and ongoingly immersed in music ever since. I don't know if the 50,000 hour figure is correct but it's about 1500 hrs/year, so quite possibly is. Parents both musicians and she was wholly immersed in their life style - not crammed into it as a future career but grew into it about as naturally as breathing. International concert pianist (I don't know what international" means in that context but she is one :-).)(Her sister, ?5 years younger, is too). Qualified conductor. 5 degrees as mentioned incl a PhD. Doctorate (non PhD) underway. Fulbright scholar. Happens to also be African American / Samoan just to add to the mix. Whatever. I'm fascinated because she and almost all her extensive set of friends and contacts are so utterly "not me". Every aspect of their lives seems to be different than me :-). I'm different than most people (as some may have noticed) but this is a different sort of different. So its interesting to look in from the side and observe. A know a man who has a PhD in bumble bees and makes his living from them. He loved bumble bees from as early as he can recall. Start from there with enough enthusiasm and away you go. Do it with pianos and after ??? years you apparently get to hear finger direction force and velocity :-) ! Russell --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .