Besides the usual fall-back on to the "learning curve/experience curve" effect
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outliers_%28book%29
I really like your question and after thinking about it for several minutes (that turned into a day since I first opened this and finished it), I thought I would share my thoughts to encourage others to offer their ideas. Although some ideas, concepts, theories, principles, and even a law (i.e., the law of diminishing returns) might be related to this answer, I do not think any specifically relate to the 10,000-hour threshold. I say this with trepidation because its genesis seems to have emanated from a study by Anders Ericsson who collaborated with Nobel Laureate Herb Stein. Then, Malcolm Gladwell elevated it in Outliers, which has some fascinating examples like birth dates and the success of Canadian hockey players.
The economic theories that are closely related to it seem to be the notion of specialization. Adam Smith’s pin factory example, is well known; however, I am unaware of any threshold. Instead the law of diminishing returns suggests that in the short run if everything is held constant, eventually output will not continue to accelerate at a faster pace as we add identical variable input in combination with a fixed input. Typically, output continues to increase with additional variable inputs, albeit at a slower pace.
None of this refutes the 10,000-hour threshold. Moreover, many of us may not hit our prime without considerable focused attention. For example, as I try to improve student learning I search for new and better was to articulate the economic analysis that may not have changed much in decades (e.g., supply and demand). I find it much easier now with experience to use certain phrases. In fact, some of the phrases I utter are virtually identical to the set of words I used previously because I seemingly have refined them as much as possible over the decades.
I am well beyond the 10,000-hour threshold in several things I do; however, as I watch my students, many of them master things much more quickly than others. I marvel at their ability to “get it” and others take more time. Perhaps this is because some have “paid their dues” in previous course work or thought. As I observe them and others, I try to see if I can reject the hypothesis, that a good deal of what we learn academically is related to focused effort, and the more we are able to use precision-like focus, the more we are able to learn. Perhaps this results from passion and as we pursue a passion, we log much more time (i.e., experience). As a caveat, real-world experience can be a cruel teacher and in some cases it can be more effective.
Another anecdote seems to reinforce the notion that time on task matters without addressing the 10,000-hour threshold, is the notion that many attorneys posit; the one who is better prepared typically does better. This head-to-head competition example admittedly is a special case.
I hope my answer attempts to suggest that time on task makes a difference and sometimes a significant difference; however, I do not see any economic theory, principle, or law that provides evidence to support the rather precise and somewhat arbitrary universal axiom of a 10,000-hour threshold. Somehow i suspect others will find support for it and I am eager to read their ideas.
Hi Rob,
Read every word of your musings which were very "multi-threaded".Offering a sense of development of that idea of "time on task" in a world that has fallen in love with "instant". Perhaps what makes the idea of 10,000 compelling is its claims on a "magic number" for a threshold. One interesting book I came across in the course of answering another question is Philip Ball's Critical Mass-which traces the evolution of that concept. And somehow something tells me that critical mass needs to be achieved for expertise to emerge. No doubt that your answer will be a catalyst for this forum!
Best Regards,
Bernard
http://www.amazon.com/Critical-Mass-Thing-Leads-Another/dp/0374530416/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1425649420&sr=8-2&keywords=critical+mass
Like to share something which is related but perhaps speaks more to the competency level (i.e. having a skill) rather than being an expert (i.e. being skilled at):
Rapid skill acquisition (competence) versus 10,000 hours (expert)
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