What talents do people have? Talented children. People of art

November 29, 2019
Psychology of Personality
Alina Pavlova

When we hear the phrase “talented person,” we all imagine approximately the same thing. This is a person whose skills and abilities in a certain professional field have no equal. In creative activity, a talented person is distinguished by a non-standard, original approach. Moreover, the quality of work does not suffer from this; on the contrary, it even surpasses the results of others.

In this article, we decided to figure out what talent is, how it is formed and manifested, what types of talents there are, and whether it is possible to develop your own talent and even create it from scratch.

What is talent and how is it formed?

According to American psychologist Dean Keith Simonton, talent is a combination of certain personal characteristics, knowledge and individual experience, thanks to which a person quickly masters a particular activity or performs it with better quality and in less time than other people in the same field.

Talent is a kind of predisposition to a specific activity. For its implementation, a favorable environment in which this feature is supported and positively reinforced over a long time is very important.

Theory of heredity

Giftedness is often associated with genetic predispositions. However, there is no exact answer to the question of a hereditary predisposition to talent. Genes that contribute to the physical strengthening of the body form a predisposition to exercise. The basis for the development of mental abilities can also be inherited. But still, one genome is not enough to reveal individual characteristics. What is important is the practical realization of potential under living conditions conducive to this.

Verbal-linguistic type

Such people are distinguished by excellent command of speech, both written and oral. In addition, they often have a talent for languages. The manner in which such people present their own ideas and thoughts is extremely original, high-quality and beautiful. They make first-class writers, journalists, lawyers, speakers, and translators. Among the speakers with this talent are Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Vladimir Lenin, Steve Jobs, etc. Among the artists with this talent are such great writers as Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, William Shakespeare, Homer, etc.

Fight for place

No one has canceled the constant struggle for a place in the hierarchy. A good team is a team with a stable hierarchy, when “everyone is seated and working.” But until the “seating by rank” is over, the work is worthwhile.

Talent from outside is a blow to the hierarchy system and a sharp escalation of the struggle within the team. If that was the management's goal, great. But if not, then the team will face an uncontrollable crisis.

Inviting outside talent leads to destabilization and increases stress levels to such an extent that employees begin to make mistakes while performing the simplest tasks - tested by neuroscientists.

Scientists from Ohio University believe that stress caused by competition with obviously “stronger” colleagues forms a so-called “brain bubble”, which distorts the perception of events and does not allow employees to use past calculations of the convergent calculator (the process of rapprochement, convergence (in different senses) , compromises; convergence is the opposite of divergence). In other words, the intervention, or intervention, of talents does not inspire colleagues to exploits, but destroys their connection with reality.

Spatial type

This talent requires excellent spatial orientation, which gives a significant advantage in such professional fields as architecture, sculpture, landscape and graphic design, fine arts, and photography. This also includes musical talent. The spatial type of talent is inherent in such outstanding personalities as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Antonio Gaudi, Frederic Chopin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Yusuf Karsh and others.

Kinds

We have already found out that talent is a high degree of development of abilities. Therefore, in the case of types, it is more appropriate to talk about types of abilities. They come in two types:

Are common . These are abilities that help you succeed in many activities. For example, these include the properties of attention and memory, IQ, volitional personality traits, and communication skills.
Special . These are abilities for a specific type of activity. For example: musical, artistic, technical, literary, social and others.

Examples of other special abilities - types of talents:

theoretical (working with abstract concepts, logical reasoning);
practical (working with hands, applying ideas in practice);
educational (knowledge acquisition, work with theories);
creative (transformation of knowledge, creating something new, conducting research, testing theories in practice);
mathematical;
physical;
artistic;
linguistic;
pedagogical;
organizational;
professional and others.

And also in psychology it is customary to distinguish between potential and actual abilities. The first are those that a person has, but the necessary conditions have not yet been created for their manifestation. The second are those that have already manifested themselves, that is, a need has arisen for their manifestation, and suitable conditions and circumstances have arisen.

Personal (emotional) type

Those with this type of talent are adept at developing themselves as individuals. They tend to carefully analyze their own actions and behavior, as well as everything that happens in their lives. In addition to knowing themselves well, such people love to practice various meditative and spiritual practices, and in this they really have no equal. A person with this talent becomes an excellent personal growth coach and philosopher. Among people with an emotional type of talent are Omar Khayyam, Osho, Mahatma Gandhi, etc.

Signs of a talented person

There are several signs of a person who has a gift:

Creative people have a lot of energy in their field of interest and can be obsessed with an idea for days on end.
Gifted individuals are both introverts and extroverts.
The uniqueness of talented people is manifested in the fact that they are modest and confident at the same time.
For the sake of what they love, such individuals are ready to sacrifice their career.
Extraordinary individuals are not always gifted in all areas, but often in just one. Talent and genius should not be confused, because in the second case the person is considered gifted in all areas. In other words, genius represents the highest level of creative manifestations of personality.

Interpersonal type

A person with an interpersonal type of talent is better than anyone else at communicating with other people, understanding them and finding a common language with them. Such a person is distinguished by unique charisma, as well as the ability to feel other people’s emotions and sincerely share them and empathize. People with such talent become excellent psychologists, business coaches, marketers, and public figures. People with the interpersonal type of talent include such famous personalities as Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, Louise Hay, Tony Robbins, etc.

Examples of brilliant people

Vincent van Gogh is a Dutch artist who painted more than 2,100 works, 860 of which were painted in oils. Van Gogh created a new pictorial language and discovered art as modernism. He suffered from bipolar disorder and committed suicide.
Archimedes is an ancient Greek mathematician, physicist and engineer who revealed to the world the method of calculating areas and volumes, which formed the basis of integral calculus, created the definition of the volume of a surface and a sphere, gave his definition of the number Pi “pi”, created a screw that facilitates the lifting of loads, built a planetarium, where the movements of 5 planets are visible. Archimedes' discoveries and innovations are extensive, in astronomy and physics, he proved many theorems, and according to the ancient Greek philosopher and writer “Plutarch” - Archimedes suffered from an obsession with mathematics, lived without paying attention to his appearance and did not really take care of himself.
Newton Isaac - English mathematician, physicist, inventor. Created the law of universal gravitation and the three laws of mechanics. He developed differential and integral calculus and many other discoveries and theories. He was good at drawing. Newton was always sad and never laughed, no one noticed that he was irritated or nervous. He was indifferent to entertainment and was in a concentrated state all the time.
Galileo Galilei - Italian physicist, writer, mathematician, astronomer, mechanic, inventor. He made a significant contribution to science; he was the first to use a telescope to observe and study celestial bodies, which led to discoveries in astronomy. Galileo is a pioneer in experimental physics. In his early years, as a student, he argued with teachers, believing that his opinion should be taken into account.

Environment talent

People with a talent for the environment are able to interact with the world of flora and fauna like no other. They are able to find contact with animals and love to grow plants. This talent is inherent in many veterinarians, florists, trainers, and agronomists. Among the outstanding individuals with environmental talent are Kathleen Mary Drew-Baker, James Herriot, Rebecca Cole, etc. With this, we completed the list of what types of talents there are, telling a little about each.

Children famous for their talents

Touching upon the topic of individuals known for their talents, it is impossible not to mention the youngest of them. Here is a list of some of the most talented children on the planet. And Aelita Andre opens it.

Aelita Andre is a child artist who created her first painting at the age of nine months. She is now nine years old. She has her own workshop where she paints on canvas. During all this time, about forty paintings by Aelita were sold. They were presented several times in big cities.

Malachi Samdy is the youngest musician to play the drum set. The boy picked up his first drumsticks when he still could not walk. At the age of four, Malakai was sent to music school, and a year later the young drummer began giving his own concerts. The boy is still improving in his creativity. He performs in orphanages, hospitals and small towns, supporting and inspiring people with his example.
Mit Fujii is one of the youngest and most brilliant photographers. At the age of three, the boy took his first photograph, which was included in the exhibition and amazed everyone. Meath continues to take stunning photographs. His parents support him and believe that their son has a great future ahead of him.
Autumn de Forest is a young artist widely acclaimed as one of the most talented children in the world. At the age of five, the girl took up painting. Soon her work was shown on the Discovery Channel, after which the young artist became truly famous. Now she is fourteen years old, and her work continues to occupy places in galleries along with the works of world artists.
Cleopatra Stratan is a young singer whose talent was discovered when the girl was only three years old. At the same age, her first music album was released. Interestingly, Cleopatra is a self-taught singer.

Danat Plushinuetanvi is one of the youngest musicians. Already at the age of three, the boy played the violin beautifully. Moreover, from an early age Danat began to paint. The boy created about three thousand paintings. Currently, the young artist and musician gives his concerts in many countries.
Avery Molek is a young musician-drummer. Already at the age of four, the boy received real musical instruments as a gift, and a year later he began performing in his hometown. The interesting thing is that Avery learns melodies based solely on ear.

Definition

Scientists have been studying human abilities and their influence on the formation of personality since ancient times.
As a result of research by modern psychologists, taking into account the experience of predecessors, a certain formulation of the psychological properties of a person has emerged: Talent in psychology represents a high degree of favorable combination and interaction of an individual’s abilities in a certain field of activity.

As a result of independent, successful and original performance of a complex work task in a novel way, a person notices characteristic signs of his talent:

feeling of inner trepidation and lifting of spirits during work;
an increase in the ability to quickly learn against the background of an attraction to the subject;
instant demonstration of good results, despite lack of experience.

Talent is manifested by a high level of creativity and is the result of talent, which is ensured by inclinations. However, talent, together with inclinations, guarantees the desired results in various fields, and talent is the peak of creativity in a certain type of activity.

The term “talent” first appeared in a biblical parable and denoted a weight measure of payment. However, methods of dealing with the monetary equivalent (develop, increase, bury) today are associated specifically with talent as a psychological category.

History of the concept

Since ancient times, philosophers and thinkers, and then psychologists, have been interested in the question of the nature of the outstanding mental abilities of individuals. However, the complex structure of the human psyche is difficult to understand, so the views of ancient and modern philosophers on the problem are not entirely identical.

Thinkers of the pre-scholastic period identified talent with a divine gift, because philosophy was subordinate to religion. They did not share the concepts of giftedness, genius and talent, considering them a single category.

Plato, Seneca, Posidonius adhered to the idea of the existence of a mystical force (fate, fate) that predetermines the development of the individual. At the same time, they recognized the presence of mental, moral and virtuous qualities, denying the role of training in transforming craft into mastery.

During the Renaissance, the Spanish doctor Juan Huarte tried to comprehend the philosophical and psychological depth of talent, which was designated as giftedness. He raised the question of the influence of natural qualities on a person’s ability or inability to perform a certain type of art and science. The doctor tried to diagnose talent based on external signs (the nature of the hair, the shape of the face).

In Enlightenment psychology, talent is the purity of the human mind from birth. The theory of “tabula rasa” began to supplant the idea of the divine sources of genius.

According to the English philosopher John Locke, there are no divine or innate prerequisites, and high horizons of knowledge are the result of life experience. G. Leibniz and Rene Descartes did not agree with this point of view, positioning the concept of “innate ideas”.

The beginning of the 19th century was marked by a surge in experimental research, and psychology became an independent science. The introduction of empirical methods in the study of talent by the English scientist F. Galton led him to the conclusion about the hereditary nature of genius.

With the advent of the associative direction in psychology, talent began to be associated with the quality of memory and level of intelligence, thanks to the French psychologist A. Binet. The role of talent was less significant compared to the value of genius.

In the 20th century, practitioners continued to study talent from the perspective of giftedness problems (“three-ring” model by D. Renzulli). The famous Russian scientist L. Vygotsky came up with the idea of the need to support a talented person so that he becomes a genius.

Without the development of creative potential from childhood, the likelihood of personality degradation increases. At the end of the 20th century, Howard Gardner wrote a book about the structure of the mind, where the author classified talent into seven types.

According to the author of the “chronopsychology” project A. V. Petrovsky, the degree of talent is based on natural prerequisites, and talent itself is not a prerequisite for realizing the individual’s potential. This is only an opportunity to gain absolute mastery on the way to the highest stage of development of abilities - genius.

How to determine your talent?

Of course, there is talent in each of us. Some people recognized him from early childhood, while others, already adults, still wonder where his soul lies. Every person is special and unique in some way. Unfortunately, people tend to believe that if they were not particularly successful at anything in childhood or adolescence, then they have no talent. However, absolutely every person can do something that no one else can.

To find out exactly what your talent is, you need to get to know yourself better as a person:

Remember what you dreamed of as a child? What did you want to be when you grew up?
What did you like to do as a child? What interests, hobbies, and games did you devote most of your time to?
Think about what professions you like now?
How do you fill your free time at the moment? What are your current hobbies?
Highlight those professions and hobbies that evoke the most positive emotions and feelings in you. To do this, it is useful to be alone with yourself and imagine yourself doing an activity that you really like.
Of all the professions and hobbies that you like, try to choose the most attractive for you.
Finally, think about how you could apply yourself and your strengths to this activity?

And most importantly: open yourself to new experiences. Don't get hung up on just one hobby. Try yourself in a variety of hobbies, even those in which you think you will not succeed. You can find your calling in completely unexpected areas of activity. Ultimately, by trying something new for yourself, you will at least learn new skills. And you will better understand who you are, what you are capable of and what you are truly talented at.

In this article, we told you in detail about what talent is. You learned how and under what conditions it is formed, what types of talents exist, and most importantly, how to discover your own. Don't forget that all people are naturally talented. No matter how old you are, there is always a chance to get to know yourself, understand your strengths and capabilities. There are no people without talents; there are people who have not fully recognized themselves.

In conclusion

Talent is like a torch that illuminates our existence, because the work in which we are talented will always bring pleasure and true joy. Unfortunately, life circumstances sometimes force you to turn away from this light, but, what’s even worse, over time it can fade away. So remember, you can always rekindle that fire. The main thing is to be able to see it. Then it will warm your existence and illuminate the paths of life.

We wish you good luck!

We also recommend reading:

Storytelling
Fixed Mindset
5 Ways of Thinking
Exercises for self-development
Vitality Quotient VQ: What is it and why is it important?
5 ways to develop a talent for happiness
The Myth of Genius
Questions to Find Meaning and Happiness
Empathetic intelligence
Talent vs ability. What's more important?
Two Ways of Thinking by Carol Dweck

Key words: 1LLL, 1Self-knowledge