So you think "natural talent" is more important than "hard work" in pool? I think this might be the case for some individuals (e.g., a few top pros who don't seem to need to work that hard on their game). But I think for the majority of pool players, hard work trumps talent in a big way.
Regards,
Dave
PS: I read the entire book and enjoyed it very much.
A few points:
1. I am shocked you read the whole book and you use that book as a footnote in your #97 myth. If anything, that book supports the nature argument significantly more than the nurture argument. Did we read the same book??? In fairness, I'm not completely through it yet. But almost everything I read thus far in it is in favor of nature.
2. To answer your question, yes, I do think talent is much more important than hard work in pool. But let me qualify that. IMO, if you found 2 12 yr olds that never held a pool stick before, but both played on a softball team where everyone who signed up was on the team (no tryouts). If you took the player who was the pitcher, who is usually the best on the team, and the player in right field, who is usually the worst, and had them both play pool for 6 months, the pitcher would be significantly better than the right fielder. If you repeated this many times, a pattern would emerge showing the same.
In contrast, if you take that right fielder, and have him play pool for 20 years, he might become a decent player, like my speed perhaps. And he will beat the pants off of ANY all-star pitcher with all the talent in the world that never held a cue before. But, that all-star pitcher might catch up to the 20 yr right fielder in just 2 years.
Now, this is my opinion. No study like this has ever been done, as far as I know, in pool, or any other sport. (The info we have is usually after the fact looked at). Which brings us to #3.
3. We are all talking out of our ass's in this thread. It's all opinion, including what I say. But, you are in a position of authority. I asked my question, because I'm fairly certain you can not quantify the statement on your site. You can't make a stament as fact on your site where thousands visit, without having evidence to support it. If you do, then show it. If not, then your statement should be amended to say "IMO.... ".
I'm sorry to pick on you, but IMO, you should be held to a higher standard than the rest of us
Best,
Nick