But Toyota is pressing ahead anyway, confident that, with practice, it can master fuel-saving technologies more quickly than rivals.

ECONOMIST: How Toyota has seized the initiative

They are persistent and believe that they can develop the ability to master new skills through practice and effort.

FORBES: Women: Are We Our Own Worst Enemy?

In fighter pilot training school he had to practice twice as hard as others to master the same maneuvers.

FORBES: Robert Greene: How to Become the Master of Any Skill

Instead of relying on business school to succeed, deliberately practice the skills necessary to become a master in your chosen field.

WSJ: Why Getting an M.B.A. Isn't Worth It

Sure, as Malcolm Gladwell believes, some endeavors require unrelenting practice, perhaps 10, 000 hours to master.

FORBES: How to Succeed, Since Success Is Random

The region's nimbler, more market-oriented colleges have been helped by the new practice of dividing education into chunks (bachelor's and master's degrees, for a start), with work sandwiched in between.

ECONOMIST: Central European universities

The practice is at risk of extinction because of the decreasing number of master potters, low prices for finished goods and the increasing use of mass-produced containers.

UNESCO: MEDIA SERVICES

Passed from master to disciple through oral instruction, the radif embodies both the aesthetic practice and the philosophy of Persian musical culture.

UNESCO: Intangible Cultural Heritage

Mr Rosen discusses why good inventors require a healthy dose of delusion and just how much practice (at anything from tennis to blacksmithing) is required to turn a journeyman into a master.

ECONOMIST: Why it started in Britain