As for the "rule" itself, the 10,000 hour statement is not about perfection or being the best. It is an estimation of the effort required to master a trade or discipline.
But the article does mention the 10,000 hour rule.
>These findings filtered their way into pop culture. They were the inspiration for what Malcolm Gladwell termed the “10,000 Hour Rule” in his book Outliers, which in turn was the inspiration for the song “Ten Thousand Hours” by the hip-hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
And on top of that the entirety of the article is framed as a rebuttal to the 10,000 hour rule. Don't know what article you read.
The 10,000 Hour Rule is Wrong and Perpetuates a Cruel Myth
The <title> tag reads thusly:
Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 Hour Rule for deliberate practice is wrong: Genes for music, IQ, drawing ability, and other skills.
> These findings filtered their way into pop culture. They were the inspiration for what Malcolm Gladwell termed the “10,000 Hour Rule” in his book Outliers, which in turn was the inspiration for the song “Ten Thousand Hours” by the hip-hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, the opening track on their Grammy-award winning album The Heist.