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I have often read on the internet that one needs 10,000 hours ( Malcolm Gladwell's Theory ) of deliberate practice to become good at something. It takes about 7 years @ 4 hours per day. Does this mean that is someone can devote 8 hrs. per day for that activity ( say programming ) then s/he can become expert in it within 3.5 years ? Also, if a person spends one hour per day practicing ( say music ), then is he likely to get more expertise within the same 10,000 hours than a person who reaches those 10,000 hours within 3.5 /4 years ?

Also, does this 10,000 hours rule holds valid for a particular activity or a complete field? For example, if a person wants to become proficient in mathematics, then does he need to spend 10k hrs on every branch of mathematics OR 10K hrs. on mathematics as whole.

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This question is much more on topipc over at Skeptics, and has in fact been answered there: skeptics.stackexchange.com/q/10677/619 – Rory Alsop♦ Dec 18 '12 at 10:15
@Kunal Suri: this is mostly off-topic. However, I don't think that one simple theory can apply to everything. The best thing they brings is only "the faith" that you will get something if you work hard on it, which is true. – Hoàng Long Dec 25 '12 at 15:07

closed as off topic by Rory Alsop♦ Dec 18 '12 at 10:15

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