Latent Talent

The word talent can be problematic. It conjures up images of happy-go-lucky seaside competitions where a talent for singing and dancing is judged on a par with being blessed with the knobbliest knees. On the other hand, it smacks of an uncomfortable hothousing of young geniuses by over-optimistic parents. In the 1990s, however, the word has been revived in all seriousness by the arts and education establishment.