Outliers, By Malcolm Gladwell

The author explains exactly what the professional asserts and how particular pieces of evidence relate to Gladwell’s unconventional idea of success.

Lastly, Gladwell incorporates the audience’s interests to appeal to them in an emotional and engaging method in the subject of the argument, success. The goal for many is to be successful in their specific craft, and even from the title Outliers: The Story of Success Gladwell advertises his own story of success, and the audience believes if they follow the methods that successful people use then they will be successful too. Gladwell gives testimonies of people that would be predictably successful but never made it far due to not having a community to support them to open opportunities. He describes Chris Langan’s lack of credibility and success despite having a higher IQ than Albert Einstein and before he lets Langan describe a typical day

The wealthier child had the ability to foster his creativity and intelligence in ways that the poorer child could not, by being able to afford things like specialized tutors, trips to museums and other activities, or music lessons. His parents also taught him a key sense of entitlement that allows him to confidently handle situations, as he has been taught that he deserves to be involved. All of these factors shaped the two children’s path towards success. Gladwell argues that these kids benefited, or in the case of the poorer child became disadvantaged, by the community they were a part of, leading them to have success through dependence rather than independence.

Gladwell describes what makes some people more successful than others. His central premise focuses on the different opportunities that people receive throughout their lives and how those people use the opportunities to their advantage or disadvantage. Gladwell describes this theory as the Matthew Effect:

Insomuch as Gladwell has attempted a unified theory of communication the aforementioned ideas are better suited for the personalized perspective. Even though Gladwell’s theory is predicated on the inclusion of culture qua nationalistic or territorial, cultural understanding, he does embed the realization of the "personal" when he states that, “Each of us has his or her own distinct personality” (204).

Not only does he uses the work of various other people to enhance his point, he adds multiple examples. He addresses the success of people such as Bill Gates and the Beatles and talks about how they became outliers while also using other examples to solidify his argument. While talking about Bill Gates and the Beatles, Gladwell emphasizes that they got the opportunity to get better, that “Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” (42) Adding points such as that are what give him that

Is it coincidental that Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Bill Joy and many other multi-millionaires were all born within a span of 3 years? Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Outliers, suspects that there is something more behind this occurrence than just a simple coincidence. He asserts that there is no such thing as a self-made man and success does not come from natural talent, rather it comes from extraordinary opportunities and hidden advantages. In Outliers, Gladwell attempts to debunk the myth that people are successful because of themselves, and not because of other factors. Even Malcolm Gladwell acknowledges that passion and hard work are required to succeed. However, he believes that this passion and time to put in the work would not be possible without the aid of extraordinary opportunities. Gladwell prepares a firm set of logical arguments, including the advantages of birth dates, cultural legacy and family backgrounds, to guarantee that his audience will be convinced of his conviction.

An outlier is a person or thing situated away or detached from the main body or system. In other words, an outlier is somebody who goes out of his or her way and does something extraordinary in order to accomplish their goal. Martin Luther King Jr. is a true example of an outlier. In the early 1900s, segregation was strongly recognized in the United States, until Martin Luther King Jr. stood up for what he believed in and made a change. Although he made a difference to the United States, he was assassinated in the making of this process. This assassination is an example to why Martin Luther King Jr. is considered to be an outlier. The novel Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is a detailed explanation

Everyone aims to fulfill the American Dream, achieving prosperity through hard work. Society loves the ideology that anyone can become successful and that we all have the same opportunities and chance of success, if enough work is applied. With this ideal, people can blame their failure on not working hard enough or having an adverse life. However, Malcolm Gladwell sees success in contrast to the common people. Gladwell believes that success is mainly caused by having the right opportunity and circumstances rather than by working hard. David Karp, founder of the international social networking site Tumblr, is an individual who embodies Gladwell’s phenomenon by having extended advantages that were rare among his peers and having a supportive, relatable lineage that not only lead him to success, but also makes him an Outlier.

The question Gladwell asks seems so simple, but it gets the reader to pause and think. People can relate to it in many situations, so it is personal for each person. Gladwell also uses analogies to make his points come across. For example, when relating successful people to growing trees, “The tallest oak in the forest is the tallest not just because it grew from the hardiest acorn; it is the tallest also because no other trees blocked its sunlight, the soil around it was deep and rich, no rabbit chewed through its bark as a sapling, and no lumberjack cut it down before it matured. We all know that successful people come from hardy seeds.

Within chapter four, Gladwell introduces two different types of intelligence; practical and analytical, both in which influence our success. He claims that practical intelligence is something one is not born with, but instead, a reflection of one’s cultural advantages. For example, Oppenheimer attained the skill of practical intelligence because he always knew what to say, when it was appropriate to say it, and knew how to get what he wanted through people. Oppenheimer was taught to be a social savvy through concerted cultivation because his parents had fostered him to be assertive and question authority. We see in chapter four that being a social savvy and having practical intelligence is “a set of skills that have to be learned. It has to come from somewhere . . . get these kinds of attitudes and skills is from our families” (Gladwell, 102). Another intelligence Gladwell introduces is analytical intelligence. Langan and Oppenheimer both acquired this skill. It was intelligence within your genes. Gladwell describes analytical intelligence as a mental process that is expressed through our intelligence. Gladwell states that it’s in “your genes . . . he was born smart. IQ is a measure, to some degree” (Gladwell, 102). These two types of intelligence affect and influence one’s ability to succeed because intelligence refers back to

Chapter 1 refers to the Bible that states that those who have will be given more while those who have not will lose that which they had. During chapter 1 Gladwell talks about the certain leverage children and sports players have in school just because they were born in a beneficial section of the year. That led them to have a positive influence for their life that only helped the more though ought there life from there. Gladwell had analyzed a comparatively unique statistic about the Canadian professional hockey leagues: 10% were born between October and December, 20% between July and September, 30% between April and June and 40% between January and March. His interpretation for this bizarre statistic is elementary: the cut-off birth date for trying out for hockey in Canada is January 1st. remarkably, from his statistics if you turn ten on January

The first chapter of the book Outliers is titled “The Matthew Effect.” Malcolm Gladwell uses this title as a reference to a verse in the bible from the book of Matthew. The verse is basically saying that those who have a lot, will get more and those who don’t have a lot, will get less. Gladwell uses this chapter to show his view on what makes people successful in life. The example he begins with involves young Canadian hockey players.

Essentially, the topics Gladwell covered in this book include are, being at the right place at the right time, the 10,000-hour rule, timing, upbringing, and pursuing a meaningful career. Although all of these have been proven by Gladwell to be a major component of success, I do not agree with the idea of a particular upbringing will determine success. With this idea, Malcolm also includes that

Gladwell used many anecdotes and stories to push his hypotheses. An example would be the two chapters titled “The Trouble with Geniuses Part One and The Trouble With Geniuses Part Two”. In these chapters, Gladwell introduces Chris Langan, a man with an IQ higher