[thechat] The Sociology of Fanaticism

[Luther, Ron]

Gosh Ken - got me rolling now!

(It's okay - I didn't want to research Oracle optimizer hints
this afternoon anyway.)   ;-0

Tangential question:

Is some degree of 'obsession' or 'fanaticism' _required_
to achieve excellence?

* A rock star practicing guitar?
* An Olympic gold medalist in figure skating?
* A web designer testing ...?

<ooops> Okay - forget that last one, I went over the line
there ... 'Zing' went the Trollometer ... or was it
'Zig'? </ooops>

I remember overhearing a pro golfer talking in my chiropractor's
office a year or two ago (before one of the Houston Shell Open
tournaments).  He was saying that he had a black belt in some
martial art.  Did he care about martial arts? No.  Yet he put in
enough time practicing martial arts to get a black belt --- solely
to improve his "hip snap" and get a few extra yards when driving
a golf ball.  [Maybe it's earning him a few extra thousand a year.
Maybe it's just more evidence that he's loony.]


RonL.