I really dislike the idea of "talent". "You have to be talented." "It all starts from talent."
I've seen people with seemingly NO talent for music or coding or whatever turn themselves into virtuosos because they WANTED it. It seems like saying "You need talent" is a way to tell people that "it's okay that you're not trying, because you might not be talented in this area". And that's bullshit.
I've come to believe that many people (like the article author) confuse talent with passion and persistence. If you naturally have a talent for something, you are more likely to pursue it and spark a passion for it.
It's much easier to get good at something you have a natural inclination towards. This does not mean that talent is a prerequisite for getting good at something.
And besides, having talent is like having a small head start in a marathon. You may start faster but that doesn't mean you'll finish faster.
I wouldn't say Usain Bolt is talented because he's the faster runner. Majority reason why he is so fast is because of the amount distance he can cover with his leg stretch over his opponents due to his height; not his talented ability to quickly move one foot in front of another (just like ever professional runner has)
I have artist friends who get really annoyed when they hear people say "I wanted to draw but I just don't have any talent for it, not like you". They feel like it's totally dismissing the years of obsessive practice they've put into it to make it /seem/ effortless.
Natural talent counts for something, but it's not going to make you a success. I saw "result = talent * effort" mentioned on the last HN post about this, and I thought it was pretty accurate.
I had an ex with natural talent for art. She never went anywhere with it (took the safe route and became a nurse instead), but she was just plain better at art than other people, with considerably less effort.
Some people certainly do have a natural talent for something. However, this rarely means that they're good enough to succeed at that thing without working on it. I.e. if your ex wanted to make a living as an artist she'd still likely have had to go to school / practice extensively before being good enough that people would have bought her stuff.
Also, and I don't know whether this is the case with your ex, it's entirely possible that she was better at art because she'd been idly drawing over the years. I've certainly known people who wouldn't call themselves artists whose default idle activity is to sketch away on a piece of paper. They're vastly better than me, because they've been practicing in a low-key way for years.
Natural talent just gives you a head start on others. Someone willing to put in more effort than you can still be better than you.
I suppose this may break down around the limits of a field, especially one rooted in physical activity. E.g. Michael Phelps seems to be nearly perfectly physically adapted for swimming. If he never practiced then he'd be easily outswum by anyone half-decent... but by putting in massive effort training he reaches a point where he's practically unbeatable.
I've seen people with seemingly NO talent for music or coding or whatever turn themselves into virtuosos because they WANTED it. It seems like saying "You need talent" is a way to tell people that "it's okay that you're not trying, because you might not be talented in this area". And that's bullshit.