What if talent isn't the ability to do what others cannot, but the ability to discover possibilities that others don't even recognise as possibilities?

The Possibility

Perhaps talent isn't simply an exceptional ability waiting to be discovered. Perhaps some forms of talent remain invisible until someone creates a problem that allows them to emerge.

The Reasoning

We identify talented athletes by observing how they perform against challenges we've already defined.

But every test rewards certain abilities while overlooking others.

An athlete who excels at solving familiar problems may be recognised as talented. Another who might discover entirely new solutions could remain unnoticed because the opportunity to demonstrate that ability never arises.

What if talent identification doesn't merely discover the future of sport, but partly determines which future is possible?

The Consequence

If we can only recognise the talents we already know how to test, how many extraordinary athletes have we dismissed without ever discovering what made them extraordinary?

All questions