ABSTRACT
The scientific study of talent began with Sir Francis GALTON’s findings of a generation-to-generation sequence of eminence or professional accomplishment, which he interpreted in terms of genetic endowment. Galton developed statistical methods that made it possible to rank human beings in terms of their reputation and their physical and intellectual powers, and to correlate such measures with one another. He recognized “natural ability” as a major source of achieved reputation, meaning the inborn “qualities of intellect and disposition,
which urge and qualify a man to perform acts that lead to reputation” (1869, p.33). He also identified two general qualities that distinguish the more or less able individuals – motivation and persistence – defining reputation or eminence as the triple event of ability combined with zeal and with capacity for hard labour. His work had far-reaching effects on contemporary ideas about the nature and origin of human abilities, and retains its significance in the current debate on the inheritance of ability and intelligence.
