I commend you guys for stubbornly putting a chisel to this and hoping some (new) interesting bits might come off…
“Hey, on my end it starts to look like a puff of smoke!”
“Nah, over here, it’s definitely a rabbit, I am pretty sure…”
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Ahh yes, Sherlock’s definition of insanity 
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The fact that it can be both - that is what makes it art!
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This is a fascinating thread/discussion for me. Especially in the objective testing realm when it comes to aptitude. Recently, my daughter wanted to do some aptitude testing. She’s trying to figure out a career path/major. It was a 2 day process of testing, then a consultation regarding her scores and careers that would match with her higher scoring aptitudes. Below is what they measured, it wasn’t just a knowledge test, they measured things like dexterity and rhythmic memory. I found the process pretty interesting. I’m not sure that the assumption that a high aptitude for something equates to greater enjoyment for that thing is totally true, but I think in most cases it applies. One thing I did notice is that she scored well in a lot of the musical facets of the test. But, she has had the opportunity to develop this by playing bass/piano/clarinet. So is it really an aptitude, or something she has developed over time? Where would some of the great players fall in some of this testing, both before they became great bass players and after? Interesting topic for sure!
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Look closely, I might have used a banana too
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In my work (anesthesiologist), I work with lots of surgeons. Some doing the same procedure day in and day out for years of practice. There are some surgeons who are highly proficient and technically very good, and some who are just not. Despite having similar training and opportunity for development of skills, there’s still a bell curve. I’ve always been interested in why this is the case. I really wonder what an aptitude test measuring all the things that we know making a great surgeon would really look like. I’d love to see a study of great surgeons and not so great surgeons taking this test both before training and after about 5 years of practice and see if it was predictive. Also, I’m picking on surgeons but this could be really any profession, including mine.
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As an example, I started college by majoring in engineering. I had all the prerequisite classes in hand from high school, so I figured I was all set. But it turned out I hated all my engineering courses except for engineering drawing — old school version: drafting table, French curve, etc.
I finally went to a college counselor who gave me a battery of three tests, including an aptitude test.
By way of personal example, from the time I was a small child, I always found spelling, reading comprehension and writing to be very easy. When teachers gave the class a composition assignment for homework, I was often accused of plagiarizing what I turned in. Teachers would make me prove I hadn’t cheated by writing something in class, under close scrutiny.
Around the same time that was happening, I also bought my first guitar and a book of chords. I would play until I bled, despite the guitar’s soft nylon strings.
Anyway, the results of the aptitude test I took in college stated that I was suited for three career paths: lawyer, musician, writer. The musician aspect made sense to me; the lawyer option was a hard pass; but I’d never remotely considered writing because I assumed that anyone could do that.
I pursued music, but only after dropping out of college to write and play music on my own for years. I ultimately went back to college to study music seriously.
The ironic thing is that, while I love music to this day, so many decades later, my professional career has been in writing and the visual arts of photography, video, graphic design, and Web design/dev. I never consciously considered any of these subjects as potential life pursuits, let alone being the foundations for making my living: they chose me. It turns out I have an aptitude for them.
Similarly, I believe every person has an aptitude for something(s), whether it is ever discovered, recognized or developed. Hopefully, it is, preferably sooner than later.
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Me, too! I suffered a brain injury right after I turned 14. I’ll spare you all of the challenges I’ve had to deal with since then, but one of them was having difficulty sticking with something. My mother took me down to IIT (Illinois Institute of Technology) in Chicago for a 2-day aptitude test. The test was developed by having a number of recognized talented individuals in 50 different job categories take the same test. My results were mapped against theirs, looking for the best match. My results? Lawyer or musician. Lawyer was also a hard pass for me and I didn’t see music as being sufficiently profitable (lots of starving artists). My natural gift was problem solving, so I chose engineering. That turned out to be a wise decision for me, one of the few I’ve made in my life. After years designing products and then systems, I joined the consulting group in Motorola University and wound up managing the business in Asia and Europe. 200+ nights/year sleeping in hotels and another 30+ sleeping on airplanes. Fortunately, I was able to fly First Class, since Business Class seats back then were 55° cradle seats, not fully flat.
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To measure with?
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Hahaha! I should have!
No, I thought that Josh has a banana, he inspired that little New York band with the German girl to put a banana on the cover of their debut album … so I - being a true BassBuzzer - decided to put a banana into the very fabric of my pickguard.
But, invisible to the naked eye, as I am a very subtle and shy personality and don’t want to make a fuzz about my banana ^^
It’s performance art, I guess!
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Was listening to The Marble Index yesterday. Evening of Light, so damn good.
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Yeah, usually a German accent makes me want to take cover and phone my family, to ask them if Rotterdam still exists.
But in this case I appreciate it!
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He used the banana as the router template. This is the only conclusion I can draw to end up with this result 
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Hahaha, Barney, it’s over when the fat lady sings!
I’m much further now … come over to your favourite thread and tremble in awe
EDIT - in terms of “art” I quite prefer the version you posted, I have to admit. Maybe I will remove the black wrap film again, to honour you! My “Barney” pickguard…
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There was an interesting UK TV show on a while ago that used aptitude tests to try and find people who were innately talented at different things.
I always remember the person who was picked for free diving and did the best - I think she achieved some impressive things really quickly.
I’m not sure if I was relieved or annoyed when I heard the 10,000 hours thing de-bunked, but it would explain why I’m shit at sports despite trying 
I just need an extra 10,000 hours.
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Is “talent” really just another word for luck? Maybe you were born with perfect bass hands, the rhythm of a metronome…
It’s natural to envy lucky people. Outsiders view guys with what they perceive as “natural talent” as born that way lucky.
In reality those folks either started at a young age or played until their hands bled while the rest of us were chasing girls and drinking.
Determination, time on instrument, focus, and the right growth path/methodology make success.
Nothing is free. Sacrifice your youth, your free time, your money, you gotta give to get.
I tell my boys, “how many of your friends play video games vs how many play music? No one will ever think you are special or put you on a stage for playing games”
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I don’t have any numbers, but I wouldn’t be surprised if nowadays more people get rich by playing videogames (and streaming that) than people that get rich by playing music 
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Is luck another word for every human aptitude, trait or ability? Absolutely not.
The Oxford dictionary defines talent as:
A special natural ability or aptitude, usually for something expressed or implied; a natural capacity for success in some department of mental or physical activity
That stated, could someone describe a talented person as being lucky because he/she was born possessing “a special natural ability or aptitude” for a mental or physical activity? Sure.
But some would also describe a tall person as lucky for being tall. Or strong. Or physically endowed (by whatever cultural standards du jour).
Or talented.
Calling someone lucky for having any of these attributes or abilities would actually be a subjective, personal evaluation that would reflect more on the caller than on the person being called that.
This^^^