ABSTRACT
In most domains of achievement, the possession of exceptional ability would seem antithetical to the operation of chance. Tiger Woods came to dominate professional golf not because of a bunch of lucky shots, but because he exhibits consistently high levels of performance. A violinist like Jascha Heifetz awed audiences not because he would try to play a difficult piece several times during a concert until he chanced on the right notes, but rather because he could maintain inspiring levels of technical virtuosity and interpretative power performance after performance. A calculation prodigy like Shakuntala Deviwho can perform phenomenal feats of mental arithmetic-amazes not only because of the speed and magnitude of the achievement but also because the calculations are absolutely free of guesswork and error.
