I think there is no debate that nature plays a role whether you have a talent for math, piano or running. But nurture is required, hence the whole 10,000 hours thing. Bill Gates got up at 3 in the morning day after day to use the University computer. Just being uber smart does not make you create a company like Microsoft. Yes, they got the opportunity to create the software but because by high school he already had a computer consulting firm.
I think what really distinguishes certain prodigies is their love of their talent. DD enjoyed her talent at the piano but then when the concerts started early and we had to push her to play to concert level, she didn't love it. She loved being able to play the pieces, not play them exactly how the teacher wanted them done. When we went to the Young People's concerts and they had these musicians who won competitions at 12 and were touring at 14, they loved the music, they loved their talent and ability to play. DH was at Harvard with Yo Yo Ma and said the guy would practice one section of a piece for hours until he had it perfectly. That is nurture.
And so the argument gets blurred. Yes, a gifted can more easily tackle the work and spend less time achieving the end result but with bad habits of slacking, the less gifted can achieve higher results. So in the end, how can you judge who is more talented, the giftie who didn't want to do the work or the less gifted who did the work and achieved greater results?
