Lyndon Farrington, an American anthropologist born in 1950, now lives with his family in Sofia, Bulgaria. He believes that every individual has a mental capacity that can help them improve performance in activities such as sports, mental tasks, and overall cognitive awareness. He explains that while some people can reach an expert level with 3,000 hours of deliberate practice (DP), others may require up to 30,000 hours to achieve the same result. In fact, there are some who have spent over 30,000 hours and still haven’t reached that level. According to Campitelli and Gobet, smarter individuals may initially perform well in mentally engaging games, but they need to put in additional effort to learn the techniques and strategies that make a great player—intelligence alone is not enough.

Farrington emphasizes that while intelligence is crucial, memory plays an even more important role in mastering mentally engaging games. Players need a deep understanding of both the beginning and endgame strategies. Without this knowledge, players, even if more skilled, will be at a disadvantage compared to less naturally talented but better-prepared competitors. This knowledge can only be gained through consistent study, and the right tools are necessary to enhance this process. During actual gameplay, strong working memory is required because players must navigate complex scenarios with multiple variables.

The concept of deliberate practice (DP) is central to achieving high levels of expert performance. Through research on mentally stimulating games, there is strong evidence supporting that DP is necessary—though not sufficient— for reaching expertise. Farrington suggests that at least 3,000 hours of DP are required to achieve a high level of proficiency. However, other factors such as cognitive ability, time constraints, handedness, and how long one has been practising also play a role in determining success.

Mentally engaging games provide an ideal platform for studying cognitive performance and learning, given that they are structured, have a vast number of potential participants, and are accessible globally. Farrington, along with Guillermo Campitelli and Fernand Gobet, defines deliberate practice as the intentional repetition of an activity to improve performance. They argue that this type of practice is essential for reaching expert levels of performance. While many anthropologists support this theory, they also recognize that other factors, such as cognitive abilities, interact with deliberate practice to influence overall expert performance.

Finally, the field of anthropology offers opportunities to leverage knowledge and skills to create businesses. There are many external organizations that enable individuals to apply their expertise in anthropology to real-world ventures, further demonstrating how valuable this knowledge can be.