it is generally believed that some people are born with certain talents, for instance for sport or music, and others are not. However, it is sometimes claimed that any child can be taught to become a good sports person or musician.

Conventional wisdom says that some people have an innate ability in certain areas and others do not.

However

,

this

is sometimes challenged by the claim that, with training, any child can become good at certain things. I agree with the conventional wisdom because even though training helps a person improve, genes determine the highest point they can reach. On the one hand, some people argue that education can make up for a lack of talent. It teaches children what they need to do to progress. With practice, they can improve a lot from where they started.

However

, I think education can only get a person so far. Even with great improvement, they may still lack the ability to reach the highest level.

On the other hand

, conventional wisdom tells us that certain talents can only be inherited. Take

for example

Michael Phelps, the greatest Olympian of all time. His relatively long torso and short legs

along with

the wide shoulders and narrow hips allowed him to generate more powerful kicks, maintain better balance and create less resistance in the water than the average swimmer.

This

kind of body type is definitely not something one can attain through training. I agree with

this

argument because if the claim of coaching were true, swimmers who trained with Phelps under the same coach could have reached the same level of success as he did. In conclusion, a person that lacks a certain gift can only go so far in that area even with the help of training. To become extremely good at something, native abilities are needed.