Talent? What's the difference.

Notice how many of the prodigies exist in the days before intense media scrutiny?

I have a simple rule: Take with a huge grain of salt anything a parent reports about their own kid. It's not that the parents are lying, it's just that the parental brain has a way of editing memories in a way that put the kid in the best possible light. I catch myself doing it all the time with my toddler.

Not saying all those prodigies are frauds, but I tend to be pretty suspectful of some of their greatest, parent-reported accomplishments.

I disagree with your opinion that it is innate.  I will never be able to make certain sounds in the Mandarin language, being age 19 and having never learned it.  This article explains: http://www.eldr.com/article/brain-power/why-it-easier-young-children-learn-new-language and I think this concept doesn't only apply to linguistics.  I don't know the stories behind Capablanca and Reshevsky but my guess is that their strong starting points in terms of chess skill is an effect of what I'm describing which is above average pattern recognition and/or memory in general, and not specific to chess.

It really hurts my ego when I see people like you, younger than me, that have a significantly higher rating than me. It makes me just want to quit chess.

I thought I was good. I can beat anyone in my school and usually come 1st place in those inter-school chess tournaments, but then when I see someone like you (who is just plain incredible) it makes me feel like I am nothing :(

Back in highschool it would always make me feel competitive haha. If you worked hard enough you too could become a NM, depending on the hours you put in each day.

This is a common problem, and one that must be conquered. If you search for your own self worth through others, you will always fail. Enjoy chess for it's own sake, not as a tool to show how superior you are. If you insist on proving yourself with chess, then life will show you just what a wide range of talent there is, usually by shoving some 6 year old wunderkind into your path.

 +1

Remember also that there will always be people who are more talented than you and less talented than you.  Comparison with others is of only minor importance; what counts is using your talents to make the world around you a better place.

I am.

All these prodigies are frauds.

I don't know of a single working psychologist who puts any stock in anything but exposure, time, and dedicated AND effective practice as the only routes to prodigy-hood.

Mozart's youth is chronicled well enough.  His father was a high-level music instructor.  He began his tutelage at three.  His life was nothing but music from before he was potty trained.  He put in the hours.  He just did it younger than most.

Just like every other "prodigy."

There shouldn't be any question that the earlier you start learning, the farther you'll go.  There shouldn't be any question that to reach the upper levels, you have to put in time and effort.  There is a lot of truth in the "10,000 hour rule" that says to be an expert in any given field.

However, some of you seem to think that there isn't any such thing as talent, that everyone has the same inate ability, and that if everyone started at age 3, put in the same amount of time, and got the same training, that everyone would be essentially equal players.  But that just can't be true.  Some people have better memory than others.  Some people are more logical than others.  Some are faster than others, some are taller, some are more athletic.  Everyone is not equal.

I think memory can be improved and is a fairly trainable talent. i know I have a better memory when I have sleeped, am working out, and have been working on things that require me to use it and practice with it. logicalness and other personality factors have to do with how you were raised and your environment, Im doubtful its something you were born with.

 take a look at when mozart wrote his first famous concert(and not one that was helped written by his dad who was also a proffesional musician/composer or whatever you call them specifically)You might find that he had been trained by his father for YEARS before he made anything of note(similar to a famous golfer who people call a prodigy who was also wielding a golf club around at about the age of 3). 

There's only one french mathematician I remember reading about who just was instantly a genius at what he tried. He was apparently a disinterested B student in a super strict school who one day took geometry, and read through the textbook in two straight days. He went on to write some of the most important mathematics of his time, but was constantly ignored by his peers, and had very bad relations with schools and universities in general. I think he sent some work to Gauss or another preeminent mathematician of the time who just threw his work in the trash without reading it. He joined the army eventually, and was killed in a duel (some suspect it was caused by his radical leanings). The night before the duel he spent all his time writing up as many of the mathematical theories and proofs he'd come up with as he could, and charged his friend with having them published/read. Eventually they were years later and everyone was astounded by the greatness of what he'd been able to write down before he was killed. I think he died around the age of 21. I can't remember his name right now...

Maybe Galois:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Évariste_Galois

Polgar's mind was developed for chess from an early age. The problem with most of us is that our minds were also developed from an early age...to not think and observe carefully. We were indirectly taught that it was OK to be intellectually lazy. It's not that anyone told us to go be lazy but there were no negative consequences if we were.

I read all this stuff about there being no Prodigy - who made the song Firestarter then?

Yes thank you.