I don't understand this...

@trev33 said
Imagine if they got together and formed an army? We'd be doomed. A thousand Novak Djokovics 😱

You're missing the key ingredient which is opportunity and money. You don't get too many athletics or musicians etc. from poorer nations. Serbia could be seen as poor but without looking into his history I'm sure he either came from a well off family or had a lot of help along the way.

I did reference opportunity, and happenstance/situation covered financial context. 😀

@trev33 said
Imagine if they got together and formed an army? We'd be doomed. A thousand Novak Djokovics 😱

I doubt it. They would be playing tennis with each other all day.

-Removed-

the same one that gave you pomposity

@badradger said
the same one that gave you pomposity

Talent, I think, Is primarily genetic, whereas pomposity is often caused by too much deep-sea diving.

@ghost-of-a-duke said
Novak Djokovic clearly has a natural talent for tennis which he has nurtured and developed, put in a huge amount of commitment and training. There are probably thousands of Novak Djokovics out there who lacked such dedication to their talent and now work in retail and the like.

Talent only takes you so far and is often meaningless without hard work and opportunity. (And heavily dependent of course on happenstance/situation).

There's also Nick Kyrgios - Exhibit A for tons of talent, but little motivation or work ethic, and trouble managing moods.

@bigdogg said
There's also Nick Kyrgios - Exhibit A for tons of talent, but little motivation or work ethic, and trouble managing moods.

Great to watch though.

@the-gravedigger said
I doubt it. They would be playing tennis with each other all day.

'I served in the tennis wars of the 21st century.'

@indonesia-phil said
'I served in the tennis wars of the 21st century.'

'New cannon balls, please.'

@indonesia-phil said
'New cannon balls, please.'

Volley !

@mchill said
I went to a large High School, most of us were average teenagers, but a few had exceptional talent; a 15-year-old girl posted a perfect score on a Scholastic Aptitude Test designed for 18-year old's, but the thought of college bored her, all she wanted was to get married and have kids. Today she's a twice divorced grandmother living in a mobile home. A 15-year-old boy posted a ...[text shortened]... more do not. Why is so much talent wasted on those who just don't care? I don't understand this....

First of all, one has no idea what inner demons people with talent have to cope with. For some who have what others would regard as a talent, it is actually sometimes a burden to be 'gifted'. Anyone with an eidetic memory will know what I'm talking about -- sure, it's great for playing chess to be able to memorize variations 25 moves deep, but it's tormenting not being able to forget license plate numbers of cars passing by you'll never see again.

Second, it is too easy to suppose that society's idea of success is what counts for any given individual, talented or otherwise. Yes, he might have gone on to win a gold medal at some world-class event, but maybe he's not impressed by society's standard of success. Maybe his own standard of success is something that takes a lot more courage and independence than society recognises or ever acknowledges.

Third, getting married and having kids is a fine thing, not to be denigrated. Seriously. Raising two kids was the most difficult and challenging thing I ever did or probably ever will do. Getting young people off to a good start in life is a great accomplishment. When I see in the news that some teenager shoots up a Halloween party he wasn't invited to, just because he gets into a rage that he's not entitled to go to a party, I have to wonder what went wrong in his family and his upbringing.

EDIT: fourthly, you, as one who believes in God, surely accept that a person's purpose in life may be something known only to God, not even to the person himself. His purpose in life may be so humble as merely to witness something. Or his purpose in life might be to learn humility, such that his talent is what he must overcome in oder not to be become prideful or arrogant.

@indonesia-phil said
'New cannon balls, please.'

'Loop the cannon balls good chap'

@moonbus said
First of all, one has no idea what inner demons people with talent have to cope with. For some who have what others would regard as a talent, it is actually sometimes a burden to be 'gifted'. Anyone with an eidetic memory will know what I'm talking about -- sure, it's great for playing chess to be able to memorize variations 25 moves deep, but it's tormenting not being able t ...[text shortened]... mility, such that his talent is what he must overcome in oder not to be become prideful or arrogant.

Nicely put MB.

@the-gravedigger said
Nicely put MB.

Ta. I speak from experience. I once had a certain 'facility' let us say. It's fading now, slowly. I don't miss it. And yes, I do remember license plates of cars that don't exist anymore and phone numbers of houses that don't exist any more ... It made a big difference to me that there is a place for people like me, in the IT world (juggling routing and switching protocols). Some people with a special 'facility' never find a place in the world, never connect up with other people who appreciate it or can help a talented person integrate his talent into something socially useful or personally significant; talent can be a lonely thing.

@moonbus said
inner demons

i can only turn right
they told me i could never drive nascar