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Proficiency? What? He says

"Researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: 10,000 hours"

True expertise is not mere proficiency.

There are also statements of him saying he never said it makes an expert. Maybe he's lying?

He has put words on paper that confirm. He garners attention and speaking fees. He has no incentive to speak the truth or actually help people gain expertise. He is almost a fraud. I can't believe I paid for his crappy book. I feel like an idiot. His "story" about the Korean airlines and the general conclusions he draws borders on the racist and superfluous.

I think you are taking it too far. I read his book Outliers and enjoyed it. And while he may have used the word expert, the overall message of the book that o got was that practice and experience is more important than talent. And there are very few cases I think where that doesn't hold up. And the "outliers" tend to be those that not only practiced a lot, but also had raw talent and lucked out to be in a position to be able to practice a lot.

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