How do you find talent with a spark? Can you predict who’s going to be most creative, energetic, curious, or successful? Here are two unusual questions the economist Tyler Cowen asks to figure it out…

Cowen’s range of interests are eclectic, to say the least. The LA Times said he is “a man who can talk about Haitian voodoo flags, Iranian cinema, Hong Kong cuisine, Abstract Expressionism, Zairian music and Mexican folk art with seemingly equal facility”.

When it comes to spotting talent, Cowen says he places the most weight on these two questions:

1. Who are the smart, energetic role models you were exposed to aged 12-16?
2. How old were you when you first started to try to do something in some area - even if you failed?

On one hand, I love these as indicators of who has a spark for our new world of careers and work.

On the other, I can’t help but notice they're exclusionary. A lack of networks, resources and other scaffolds means many people’s potential will remain unseen. Your geography or socio-economics may limit the role models you can be in direct physical contact with, or the number of areas in which you can try new things.

However, there’s amazing opportunity to level the playing field and discover all kinds of talented humans:

📲 Platforms that offer access and interaction with a whole world of role models, direct from a device in your hand

🛝 Multi-player sandboxes to follow a curiosity and build your first projects

⎋ Adaptive education that meets people in their zone of proximal development (not just ‘where they are’)

📦 Smart brands and non profits bringing micro ‘career starter kits’ to underserved locations

Wouldn’t it be cool if you asked these two questions and got mind blowing answers each and every time?

Yeah, I reckon so too.