Who created the marvels of Yao Ming and Jay Chou - parents or teachers? This question has ignited a public debate about whether certain talents like sports or music are natural or nurtured.

 

Some people show an early predisposition to various sports or artistic abilities, and this is often because a certain genetic trait runs in their family. Reports show that 9 out of 10 famous sportsmen and artists had a parent who had also been successful. NBA superstar Yao Ming, for example, was born in a basketball family - both his parents are above 6 feet high and were once basketball players themselves. This situation is also true in the music domain. A person has fabulous singing voices and another makes you cringe during their karaoke renditions. This can normally be explained by the genetic difference between the two people’s vocal cord. 

 

However, each child is likely to do well, or at least better, in sports or music providing he or she is given a certain period of specialized training. Many young people that I know who started learning the piano from childhood have achieved level 10, the highest level in the amateur piano proficiency test, after years of systematic training. It is also true that almost any undergraduate student in China can play Taiji boxing perfectly after some guidance and practice. Therefore, with sufficient interest and appropriate practice, every one can acquire certain abilities in music and sports after some training.

 

So far I have been unable to identify the dominant factor which determines a person’s success in sports or music. I tend to think that both genetic inheritance and guided practice are needed for any person to eventually achieve superiority in not only the two fields discussed in this essay, but also in any other filed of learning a person may encounter in his/her life.

 

 

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