Yesterday, I came across this interesting article in the Straits Times about gaining expertise. It is said that for a person to be a specialist in his or her field, he or she needs to accumulate more than 10,000 hours honing his/her skills. So if we are to use four hours day and five days a week, we will achieve "expert" status in ten years.
That got me thinking,"is this applicable to Gunpla modeling?" I did some mental calculations and after being around this field for almost nine years, I think I have more or less hit that figure. But I ask myself," can I then be considered a expert in this field?" To be frank, I am not entirely convinced.
The article went on to talk about well-know people like Bill Gates, Mozart, Bobby Fischer (a chess grandmaster), Tiger Woods and even Lewis Hamilton. All of them share some similarities, most of them started very young, devoted a large part of their younger days pursuing their interests. And most importantly, their unwavering determination to master the craft.
So what kind of determination am I talking about? Well, four hours is too short to do anything. In the first few years, I put in at least five hours a day. In fact, I am still doing that now amid other activities. The internet also provides me with valuable information I need to try a technique. I always believes that experience doesn't comes from "what I told you" but by trying new techniques, making errors and learning from them, YOURSELF. Reference books, resources and magazines were so rare those days and I have to pay a premium for them.
Fast forward a few years and you have "live" demonstrations available on YouTube, modeling forums and even hobby shops offering courses. A wealth of information at your fingertips. If you ask me, you don't need to put in 10,000 hours to be an expert.
....JUST BE MORE HARDWORKING.... and maybe a dash of flair and talent will make things less painful LOL...
