Ability vs Skill – Difference and Comparison

What is Ability?

Ability is something that a living thing is born with its innate or its enduring. In this, someone can naturally do something or be aware of how to solve a problem that presents itself. Different people can have different abilities, and they can’t make abilities without the help of skill.

Two types of abilities are present, first is intellectual, which means the ability to do something with the power of mental health or brain. On the other hand, the second type of ability is physical ability, where the need for physical work is more than mental, like the work of cleaners, or work of some labourers.

If someone needs a person with good mental ability, so the company will choose the intellectual person with good thinking of the mind, or if someone is searching for physical ability, so they will go for a physical ability type, like if someone wants to transfer some heavy materials from one place to another.

All people can’t build the ability on their brain, or in their physical body, because it’s a natural thing like flowers have their type from their birth. It’s an unchangeable thing but it makes a person better, and not all people need to have different abilities, some have some abilities, but their way of using the ability can be different.

What is Skill?

The skill is the refined version or the other varieties of techniques and attributes that can build as a result of natural abilities. These are refined, trained and developed capabilities. The skill is something that is not for birth, a person builds the skill in themself with their hard work and patience.

An example of skills can be like if any person has the power of creating something with the help of mind, or techniques the person learns, so that means a person has some type of skill. On another side, if someone is a good dancer or singer, the person also has the skill of doing these things. 

Mainly people have three types of skills, first is functional, and this skill is cam from birth but it becomes strong with practice, and experience. The second is self-management; this skill refers to the behaviours developing skills, like being super intelligent. The last type is special knowledge, which means having special knowledge, or good power in any special thing.

 All people do not have skills from their birth, and it’s not natural. People develop their skills after growing, and that is why different people have different skills, some people have skills of their favourite work, and some are even not aware of their hidden skills.

Difference Between Ability and Skill

  1. Ability is present from birth and people are aware of this without thinking. On other hand, skills are not from birth; in this people have to put their time, effort, or their work into the skills for proper skill enhancement.
  2. Ability is a type of stable thing, which stays with a person for a long period because it’s a natural thing. Skill is less stable; sometimes without practicing it can get despaired.
  3. Ability is something that gets found in most people, but skills are not founded in everyone until they develop their specific skills.
  4.  If someone wants to develop their skills, they can take classes from experts, and come better. Abilities don’t need development, like skills.
  5. An good example of ability and skill is according to survey many people knows the actual way of making a drawing, and this way is ability but only a few people know how to make a drawing, like professional, and its skill.

Comparison Between Ability and Skill

Parameters Of ComparisonAbilitySkill
Stable powerAbility stays longerIts a temporary thing
InhancementIt stays with a person from their birthSkill enhance with practice on time
More usefulIt’s a necessary thing and make person usefulThis can give a person different chances and opportunities
Create opportunityIt gives less opportunitiesPeople can get more and more opportunities with this
ExampleSomeone knows about drawingsomeone knows how to draw in a right way

References

  1. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1950-05721-000
  2. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0730888490017004003