Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.
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Quick answers
Does this atlas rank groups by IQ, race or nation?
No. Pathways and evidence stay individual. Scores are browsing aids — never group biological or racial ranks.
How much does practice explain in sport?
Macnamara et al. 2014: about 18% in their sports coding — a minority. Hours still matter; they are not the whole ranking.
Do early specialisers always win?
Some sports (women’s gymnastics) have early peaks. Many field sports reward later specialisation. The “10,000 hours from age five” poster is Gladwell, not a periodisation plan.
Are East African runners a racial proof?
No. Altitude towns, running to school, camps in Iten and Bekoji, and selection are the first variables. This atlas will not turn medals into a biological hierarchy of peoples.
What did Bloom 1985 add?
Families and coaches around high achievers — play, then a serious teacher, then a master. Qualitative and still useful.
Do talent ID camps work?
They measure current performance plus size. Late developers and late bloomers get cut. Australia’s AIS is a famous, imperfect machine.
Signs of athletic talent are cues for curiosity, not a diagnosis and not a caste stamp.
Tests measure a sample already shaped by teaching and invitation. False positives are part of the identification problem.
Early cues
- 3–6 — Play hunger — Wants another game after the whistle.
- 7–9 — Coachability — Changes a cue when asked.
- 10–13 — Multi-sport sampling — Steals footwork from another code.
- 14–17 — Load honesty — Reports pain — a talent, not a weakness.
- Adult — Late growth — Keeps skill while the body changes.
Tests & tasks
- Sport-specific trial — The honest sample.
- Growth-and-age adjusted look — Relative-age hygiene.
- General athleticism screen — A cousin, not the sport.
- One combine day — A sample of one afternoon.
Environments
- A coach who designs hours — Ericsson in boots.
- Several sports early — Sampling where the sport allows.
- Medical support — Talent includes staying intact.
- A path for late bodies — Anti-cutoff.
False positives
- Oldest in the year — Relative age.
- Early puberty size — A temporary lever.
- Parent-bought camp polish — Access.
- Racial stereotype invite — Who gets the stopwatch.
Athletic talent: a cue is information. A label without a review date is a caste.
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