Princeton study debunks "10,000-hour rule" supposedly key to Beatles' success

A study by Princeton University shows there no truth to the theory that 10,000-plus hours of on-stage performance was key to the Beatles' taking the world by storm.

The 10,000 hour theory is central to author Malcolm Gladwell's best-selling book, "Outliers," which suggested that thousands of hours of "deliberate practice" can make the practitioner world-class in his or her chosen field.

Gladwell used the example of the Beatles, and all those marathon performances in Hamburg nightclubs, of the rule in action.

But the new study says that's not how it works:

In a meta-analysis of 88 studies on deliberate practice, the researchers found that practice accounted for just a 12% difference in performance in various domains.

What's really surprising is how much it depends on the domain:
• In games, practice made for a 26% difference
• In music, it was a 21% difference
• In sports, an 18% difference
• In education, a 4% difference
• In professions, just a 1% difference

The Business Insider article linked above also notes:

Then there's a band like the Sex Pistols, who took the world by storm even though Sid Vicious could barely play his bass.