How do I become an expert pitcher? Don't try this (on your kids) at home

In their Sunday New York Times Magazine "Freakonomics" column this weekend, Levitt & Dubner will explore the question of how experts acquire their expert skill. The "teaser" post on the Feakonomics blog reveals that the column will focus on the research of psychologist Anders Ericsson (FSU), who offers "deliberate practice." The Freakonomics blog post also links to alternative hypotheses, such as the "relative age effect". That "effect," which has been documented in empirical research on hockey and soccer, is that youngsters who are a certain age but relatively older (because they were born earlier in the year) tend to be overrepresented among star athletes. The column (as usual) promises to be thought-provoking.

While deliberate practice can certainly be encouraged, will we soon see American parents trying to time childbirth to take advantage of "RAE effects" and promote athletic aptitude in their offspring?

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