The Nature and Nurture of Talent
A New Foundation for Human Excellence

Provides a theory of what it takes to achieve excellence by engaging in cultural activities to cultivate one's potential.

David Yun Dai (Author)

9781009370608, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 12 June 2025

310 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.45 kg

'David Dai has been one of educational psychology's most innovative conceptual thinkers for many years. In this book, he digs deep into the social and cultural forces that impact talent development, providing a very comprehensive overview of how, when, and why talent develops. The ideas in this volume will influence our conceptions of talent and extraordinary achievement for years to come.' Jonathan A. Plucker, Johns Hopkins University

Prepare for a captivating journey into the depths of human potential and excellence in this scholarly work. Within these pages, discover evolving complexity theory (ECT), a unified theory of talent development that integrates a rich body of research and explores a wide array of talent-related phenomena. This theory challenges conventional wisdom, shifting the focus from genetics and environmental factors to the dynamic interplay of self-organized development and real-time person–environment interactions. This book provides a practical roadmap, emphasizing actions over genetic determinants, guiding readers toward the attainment of higher levels of excellence. Departing from traditional perspectives, Dr. Dai envisions human development as a self-organized journey toward higher coherence, reframing talent development as active participation in sociocultural activities from which one's individuality evolves, and directions and purposes are crystalized. Written in an engaging and narrative style, this work is essential reading for researchers, students, and professionals seeking a deeper understanding of human potential.

Introduction
1. Evolving complexity theory (ECT) of talent development: an overview of 'one long argument'
2. The question of what develops: talent as a new machine made of old parts
3. The question of how talent develops: individual niche-picking and cultural selection as two invisible hands
4. The question of when critical events should take place: developmental windows and progressions in talent development
5. The question of where: cultural evolution and how it transforms talent and talent development
6. How ECT explains various talent achievements
7. ECT in a broader landscape of theoretic models: what is new
8. Implications of ECT for talent identification and assessment of developmental progressions
9. Implications of ECT for promoting human excellence
10. Implications of ECT for research methodology: toward a new epistemology of human excellence
Epilogue: is AI a threat to human excellence?
Postscript: remembering Larry
Glossary.

Subject Areas: Educational psychology [JNC]