Outliers Li Ka-shing Essay

Think of something you are passionate about. Is it a skill that you are able to push yourself in? People are always told that with enough hard work you could become a master of that skill. Even without natural talent, enough hard work at a skill will eventually build up the ability. By constantly pushing oneself past their limits during practice, they can improve quicker than someone who has the natural ability and doesn’t try. However, skill doesn’t always equal success. As Malcolm Gladwell states in his book The Outliers, luck plays a large role in the ability to obtain the 10,000 hours required to become an expert in a subject. However, many studies and even the researchers of the 10,000 hour study have rejected the rule outright. I disagree with Gladwell that 10,000 hours is required to become a master, and that luck plays a much larger role than he states.

Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Outliers, a novel depicting success, provides different examples of how an individual can achieve success in every chapter of his book to show his audience that success, despite a variety of barriers, is in fact in our control. A very important chapter titled, “Marita's Bargain”, explains the flaws in today’s public school systems. He shows the problems with the solutions to fix them while showing the alternatives to the regular system such as the KIPP Program in New York. The KIPP Program (Knowledge is Power Program) is a new kind of middle school that selects students from less fortunate locations and uses unique teaching strategies to turn them around into fantastic learners. In the chapter, Gladwell is extremely descriptive by using visual words to paint the picture of the South Bronx in New York City. He describes the buildings that were built in the 1960’s as squat and bleak looking. Gladwell had an interest in this subject as it involves success, however he had no prior experiences to produce the piece. Gladwell establishes personal credibility through the use of knowledge, reason, and facts and figures. He comes across very knowledgeable on the subject presenting great data with excellent vocabulary. He is able to do this with no obvious bias as well. Gladwell shows authority because he is well known for writing novels that involve success. His intention is to teach and explain how schools need to change the length of vacation breaks

The introduction of Outliers begins with an inspection of Italian American immigrants near the end of the 19th century, the founders of a small town in Pennsylvania, called Roseto. In a study conducted by physician Stewart Wolf, et al. researchers set out to decide how the people of Roseto were able to live longer, healthier lives than that of the people in the towns of the same region, as well as the rest of the nation. The secret of the success for the people of Roseto could be found in a nearly unanimous social integration, which focused on respect for elders, a common set of religious beliefs, and an egalitarian way of thinking. Wolf’s findings introduced the medical community to a new way of

An Outlier is someone who stands out in a group due to their mastery of a certain skill and because of that they are successful. According to Gladwell not anyone can become successful; it takes the right circumstances and opportunities. Human’s capability seems limitless, and if we put in the time and hard work we can achieve our goals. We as a society love to think that a person may become successful and that we all have the same opportunities and chance of succeeding if we just work hard enough. According to Malcom Gladwell, the author of the book Outlier’s these common beliefs are incorrect and are not the means of a person becoming successful. The main theme throughout Gladwell’s Outlier’s is that successful

Malcolm Gladwell insists throughout his book, Outliers: The Story of Success, that the recipe for achievement is not simply based on personal talents or innate abilities alone. Gladwell offers the uncommon idea that outliers largely depend upon “extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies” (Gladwell19). According to Gladwell, successful men and women are beneficiaries of relationships, occasions, places, and cultures. The author draws on a different case study in each chapter to support a particular argument concerning success. Despite his indifference and suppression in regards to counterarguments, Gladwell’s claims are effective for many reasons, including through the accounts of experts, tone and style of writing, and the

In many instances, those who are successful are made out to be some sort of separate breed, those who were innately able to perform remarkable feats that others, no matter how hard they tried, simply could not. Through this exhibition, many people view success as an elusive feature that only a select few can obtain. This theory is the main inspiration for Malcolm Gladwell’s exploration of success in Outliers: The Story of Success. In the book, Gladwell analyzes not only those who are successful, such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, J.R. Oppenheimer, and Joe Flom, but what path led them towards becoming exceptionally skilled. This extremely in-depth analysis of successfulness forms Gladwell’s layered theory of what creates success, and his attempt

In Outliers, Gladwell’s main argument or claim is that the way people initially see success and intelligence, should not just be the individual itself, but where and how that individual became who they were. Gladwell highlights the fact that “People don’t rise from nothing. We do owe something to parentage and patronage” (19) and that outliers don’t “sprout from the earth” (269) but are made because of various factors such as age, race, where they were born, and the environment they grew up in.

In the book Outliers, the author Malcolm Gladwell elucidates that people have to practice for more than 10,000 hours or 10 years in order to fully become successful. People can achieve more regardless of not being financially wealthy. Even though some people that have practiced for less than 10,000 hours did achieve their goals, the majority of the successful people have practiced for more than 10,000 hours. Gladwell states that, “they work much, much harder” (39). and that they have to want to stand out from everyone else. I believe that very successful people are lucky, and have talent, and are willing to work harder than everyone else.

Success has been pondered over for centuries. How does one gain success? Is it worked for or is it only designated for a special few? Looking past the multitude of self help books that have been written, many like Malcolm Gladwell have begun to consider factors beyond just “working for it” as a contributor to success. One of these factors are cultural legacies. Though it is true that cultural legacies can be extremely powerful and that we should acknowledge them when considering someone’s success, it should be evident that the extent of power culture has is less than what Gladwell proposes. The place someone originated from has extremely influential effects on how that person thinks and acts, and in turn how they gain their success. The culture they grew up with becomes deeply rooted in their minds and results in different thought processes that shape the mindset they have while developing into an individual. However, Gladwell overestimates how powerful

Becoming successful is what most people aspire to be. Most people fantasize the dream house, car, and having the dream job. Even though success is viewed so highly, not everyone can be successful. Malcolm Gladwell explains that idea throughout his book Outliers. Gladwell’s chapters contain endless amounts of evidence that support his claims exceptionally well. But, Michiko Kakutani, a critic for New York Times, exposes Gladwell’s evidence as unreliable and unconvincing, and upon further research, Gladwell’s faults grew deeper. Even though Gladwell provides an extensive amount of evidence, that evidence is one-sided and relies on suggestion.

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

The brain is one of the most complex, unknown organs of the human body. Researchers often break down the characteristics of the brain to whether tendencies are achieved through nurtured environments or the inheritability of genetics. Intelligence is one of the most controversial topics when it comes to deciding whether environment or genetics are most influential. Many argue that intelligence is based on environmental factors and the unique ability to work hard, but fail to realize the essential cognitive qualities concerning what truly defines intelligence. Although some may consider this trait as based on environment, intelligence is a cognitive attribute established by the nature of genetics.

While the author, Malcolm Gladwell, does not dispute that hard work in a necessary component, we learn that many factors, lucky breaks, and some coincidences all occur in making high achievers into true outliers. We also learn that many of the richest, most famous, and most successful people in

Teens today could improve upon so much to get a better chance to become more successful in life. In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell argues that a child’s performance level for anything has to do with their culture. He says that people of Asian descent will focus more and try harder when they do not understand something. He also talks about how constantly practicing can make you master a skill. If teens can use ideas that Gladwell talks about they can become more successful.

Outliers-The Story of Success is a sociological, and psychological non-fiction book, which discusses success, and the driving reasons behind why some people are significantly more successful than others. Malcolm Gladwell explains this by dividing the book into two parts, opportunity and legacy. Opportunity discusses how select people are fortunate enough to be born between the months of January through March, and also includes the idea that those who are already successful will have more opportunities to improve and become even more successful. The 10,000-hour rule proves the idea that in order to become successful in a certain skill, one must have practiced that skill for at least 10,000 hours. In addition to the 10,000-hour rule, timing