Four teaching cards with citations. Forbidden: group IQ by ethnicity, race or nation.
Myth 10,000 hours is a universal law
Tighter claim: Gladwell slogan ≠ Ericsson’s study design
The 1993 violinist comparison did not issue a universal hour ticket for every domain.
Source Ericsson, Krampe & Tesch-Römer (1993); Gladwell (2008) popularisation
Myth Practice alone explains excellence
Tighter claim: Practice is necessary, rarely sufficient
Meta-analyses find practice explains a minority of performance variance across domains.
Source Macnamara, Hambrick & Oswald (2014)
Myth Talent is fixed by group identity
Tighter claim: Forbidden: group IQ / racial rankings
This atlas teaches pathways and practice design — never essentialist rankings of peoples.
Source Editorial policy — Tool-Lifes talent atlas (no group IQ)
Myth Any repetition counts as deliberate practice
Tighter claim: Design + feedback is the construct
Playing favourites is not the same variable as weakness-targeted, coached work.
Source Ericsson & Harwell (2019) on deliberate-practice criteria