Showering praise on talent

I think we put people who excel at something on a pedestal simply because they do something we cannot. If you could run just as fast, sing like a soprano, solve math puzzles, compose poetry, or...the excellence suddenly becomes very relative.

Also, have you considered that most of these people excel chiefly because they had some innate talent. If not for that talent they would not have continued in that field. In other words the recepient of the accolades is just doing what comes naturally to them.

I am not discounting the fact that there talent alone takes you only so far and that to truly excel, one has to work at it. My point however is that talent is a great motivator and overcomes inertia.

Art appreciation

I recently went to the local art museum to view the works of Picasso, Matisse and several contemporaries that were influenced by them. Not having seen their works in person, I was really curious.

Having gone there I must say "I don't get it". I stood there staring at the paintings/sculptures. Looked at them from various angles. Read the synopsis (the story line behind the work). I waited in vain for the enthrallment.

I didn't go there to judge the work but to try and understand these artists' accomplishment. What differentiated them from anyone else? Probably going to an art exhibition was not the best way to learn art appreciation.