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For a minute I thought this was about literally how to get to carnegie hall. Thought to myself: "surely google maps works better than talent."

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That's actually the joke. A tourist stops a person on the street in New York City and asks, "pardon me, do you know how to get to Carnegie Hall?" The person replies, "talent."

You're missing one level of reference here. The usual joke has the person reply "Practice". The article is suggesting that talent is more important, relative to practice, than is commonly thought.

So when you see the headline you're supposed to read the first bit, expect the ending "practice", see "talent" instead, and understand that the article is likewise going to replace "practice" with "talent" somehow. (Or to look back at it after reading the article, see what they were playing at, and be impressed by their wit.)

Practice without Talent might still produce useful output. Talent without Practice just makes for frustration.

Ah, I suppose I am. I've heard the joke as "talent" or some variation, though maybe people just use talent and practice interchangeably.

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