#17 Raising geniuses

Or how hard work impacts the child's future success

In 1970s, a Hungarian researcher Laszlo Polgar conducted an experiment that changed how we view child development. Laszlo believed that hard work was the only thing that mattered and that innate talent didn't play a role in child's future success.

In order to prove his hypothesis, he decided to raise chess prodigies in his three daughters. While a mediocre chess player himself, he chose chess because it had rankings and a clear definition of what greatness is. While writing or acting are subjective, in chess your rankings are a proof of how good you are.

Laszlo homeschooled his children and taught his kids how to play chess from a young age. The chess training was highly structured and lasted several hours every day. The sisters were also taught mathematics, science, and different languages to foster critical thinking skills.

How did his daughters do?

The first daughter, Susan, became a chess grandmaster and Women's World champion. The second daughter, Sofia, also became a chess grandmaster and won two gold medals for team Hungary in chess Olympics. The third daughter, Judit, is regarded as the greatest female chess player of all time and the only woman to make it to Top 10 chess rankings.

With his experiment, Laszlo proved his hypothesis that success is more about hard work and deliberate practice rather than innate talent. While the experiment had too small of a sample size to make general conclusions, we can learn a lot from it.

What do you think? Is success more about hard work or talent?