I have had several heated discussions with friends about whether there is a limit to human potential or not. Basically, my friends argue that, for instance, any 5’10" adult male who dedicated himself to basketball from the age of 12 on, could play basketball at an NBA level. My position is that for most people, no matter how much they train, no matter how much they dedicate themselves, no matter how intense their desire, they could not compete at an elite level. If I work at it, I could maximize my physical potential, but someone else’s maximum potential would be greater than mine. I think this applies to other things, such as singing, drawing, etc. I can improve my singing, but a top opera singer was born with an ability that I will never be able to match.
Am I way off base here? With enough dedication and desire, can everyone achieve the same maximum, or are there innate physical limitations?
“You can do anything you set your mind to,” is one of those social fictions which plague humanity. No, it is not possible for any 5’10" male to dedicate themselves to basketball from age 12 and make it in the NBA. It is similarly not possible for any random human being to dedicate themselves to the studies of physics and mathematics from age 12 and become a renowned theoretical physicist. Also, you won’t necessarily meet the perfect mate, and good thinks do not always come to those who wait.
On a slightly different tack, and one which for which I apologize if it has already been done, is what ARE the limits of human potential especially in regards to sport.
Every world championship sees a new record being broken in, lets say, swimming. Over the years the records have come down and down, and the current batch of ‘fish’ seem to be doing it with great gusto. But, barring the use of performance enhancing drugs, will there come a time when records can no longer be broken?
Sure, a swimmer might shave 1/100th off a record each time, and over the years that will mount up to whole seconds, but surely there is a limit. Will the 100m freestyle eventually be swum in 10 seconds? Or will sport eventually become redundant because nobody can better the previous records?
I think(no cite) that most people probably stop before they reach the limit of what they can do, so a person determined and dedicated to succeeed may well overtake a more (inherently)able person who can’t be bothered.
Obviously there are people shorter than 5’10" who can succeed at that level, but could anyone do it, given the right training, dedication, etc? I don’t think so.
This brings up another point in the debate. Is the maximum desire and determination the same for everyone? Are some people innately better at focussing and dedicating themselves to succeed, thus better at maximizing their potential? When I asked my friend about athletes who struggle in the minors or lesser leagues for years without breaking through to the elite leagues, his answer was a lack of desire and dedication on their part. I think those people have maxxed their potential and just aren’t as mentally and physically gifted as the top players (of course they are still better than the vast majority of the world in their field.)
well… from general observation it appears that some people are more focused and ‘driven’ than others. i’m not so sure that this is a genetic feature though. to the best of my knowledge, it hasn’t been determined whether characteristics such as intensity concentration and desire for success are genetically determined or environmetally influenced.
