the 10,000 hour rule

Removing the Devil from our Dinner Plates

    After reading Chapter 2 from the book Outliers; the story of success written by Malcolm Gladwell I have come to the conclusion that practice does make perfect. I know it sounds cliché but sometimes there is a certain amount of truth to be found in a cliché.  For instance when Benjamin Franklin stated “a penny saved is two pence dear” (“a penny saved is a penny earned”) that’s pretty much correct, especially if you have your pennies in a financial institution earning yearly interest. By that same token Mr. Gladwell’s point that it takes ten thousand hours of hard work and dedication to make one an expert at a particular field has a certain amount of truth to it.

    Having the opportunity and the resources to be able to perfect your craft would also help one’s cause tremendously. For anyone to spend countless days and nights immersed in studying, practicing, and perfecting one skill has to mean the person doing so has to be very interested in what he/she is pursuing.  So if I could become an expert at anything I think I would dedicate my time and effort to biological engineering. My goal would be to develop food that is rich in vitamins and nutrients minus the toxins and fatty cells that lead to heart disease, obesity and in some cases cancer but. I understand that we are living in the “organic” age and there are a lot of alternative low fat foods available but most of those items simply don’t taste good. The “New Food” as I would call it would not compromise the original taste at all.

    I understand to do this type of work I would have to experiment with live animals, but before you call PETA and have them picketing my laboratory I would also develop a way that is totally pain free and harmless to animals. Besides I’m a pet owner and I wouldn’t dare harm a defenseless animal, even if it meant I would earn Einstein status for removing the devil from our dinner plates. I understand the idea seems far fetched, but imagine how this would impact the world, imagine how many lives it would save. No longer would my girlfriend have to eat like a rabbit when we dine out at The Olive Garden. Parents would no longer have to beg their children to eat their veggies or drink fruit juices and milk to build strong bones and healthy bodies. This would indeed be a nutritional revolution. I think it also would make the world a happier place as a whole because this would be something for all people.

    The downside of my biological breakthrough is that health clubs, workout DVD’s, and expensive diet programs would become futile. I believe that the clothing market would also take a serious hit because who would buy a pair of running shoes or jogging shorts if they could eat as much as they want anytime they want without worrying about weight gain?  Produce sales could eventually drop as a result of this food revolution, but I think the majority of people in the world like the taste of their fruits and veggies. Despite the economic consequences I think the world would welcome the new food with Arms and mouths wide open.