Blow to 10,000-hour rule as study finds practice doesn't always make perfect

Research of violinists undermines popular idea as average players practise more than best ones

With blatant disregard for the public benefits of motivational idioms, researchers have concluded that practice does not, necessarily, make perfect.

A study of violinists found that merely good players practised as much as, if not more than, better players, leaving other factors such as quality of tuition, learning skills and perhaps natural talent to account for the difference.