Book Review - Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
Category Book Review Malcolm Gladwell Outliers
In the blogging circles I follow, it's been nearly impossible to miss the frequent mentions of the book Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. I requested a review copy of the book, as I'm not sure I'd get through our library hold list for the next six months given the popularity of the book. I'm glad I made the effort to get a copy, as Outliers does an excellent job in destroying the common myths of what it takes to be successful.
Contents:
Introduction - The Roseto Mystery
Part 1 - Opportunity: The Matthew Effect; The 10000-Hour Rule; The Trouble with Geniuses, Part 1; The Trouble with Geniuses, Part 2; The Three Lessons of Joe Flom
Part 2 - Legacy: Harlan, Kentucky; The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes; Rice Paddies and Math Tests; Marita's Bargain; A Jamaican Story
Notes; Acknowledgments; Index
The first example of "success" involves a sport I know and love... junior hockey. It's generally thought that at the Junior A level (just short of professional), the stars are ones that have worked harder and have more skills than others who haven't made it to this level. But after looking at player statistics, Gladwell noticed something interesting. Nearly all the players have birthdays in the January/February range. Coincidence? Not really... It turns out that January is the age cutoff for players. Players born in January are the oldest of their class year. They are bigger than other kids in the same year. At the age of five, those five to eight months of difference creates a significant edge. The January players get noticed, and get more attention than others. This attention leads to more opportunities, which makes them better, which gives them more opportunities, etc. The kids born towards the end of the class year don't end up with the same advantages as they're smaller. The net result is that these Junior A stars may think that they've achieved this level through pure skill, but the real answer is that they've achieved quite a lot simply by being born in January...
Gladwell uses this insight to dig into other success stories and general assumptions (such as all Asians being good at math). In all the cases, he found solid evidence to point to other external factors that gave these people and groups an edge beyond "hard work". The Asian/math phenomenon can be tied back to language that enables young children to understand math concepts much more easily than does English. Korea Air plane crashes were not due to Koreans being bad pilots. It was tied to a culture of deference that kept crew members from openly questioning the captain, thereby forcing communication to follow a ritualized pattern to avoid offense. Once you're made aware that the "lone wolf" pattern is rarely a complete story, Gladwell's findings cause a lot of things to fall into place when it comes to achievement. Basically, you are who you are because of those who came before you.
I really enjoyed this book. I've often thought there had to be more behind the "self-made man" stories, and Gladwell confirms it. That's not to say that someone can't overcome the odds, that they can't be born in December and become a hockey all-star. But it forces you to look behind the obvious feel-good stories to find other answers. Even if you don't agree with the conclusions that Gladwell reaches, you'll be forced to think. A recommended read...
In the blogging circles I follow, it's been nearly impossible to miss the frequent mentions of the book Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. I requested a review copy of the book, as I'm not sure I'd get through our library hold list for the next six months given the popularity of the book. I'm glad I made the effort to get a copy, as Outliers does an excellent job in destroying the common myths of what it takes to be successful.
Contents:
Introduction - The Roseto Mystery
Part 1 - Opportunity: The Matthew Effect; The 10000-Hour Rule; The Trouble with Geniuses, Part 1; The Trouble with Geniuses, Part 2; The Three Lessons of Joe Flom
Part 2 - Legacy: Harlan, Kentucky; The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes; Rice Paddies and Math Tests; Marita's Bargain; A Jamaican Story
Notes; Acknowledgments; Index
The first example of "success" involves a sport I know and love... junior hockey. It's generally thought that at the Junior A level (just short of professional), the stars are ones that have worked harder and have more skills than others who haven't made it to this level. But after looking at player statistics, Gladwell noticed something interesting. Nearly all the players have birthdays in the January/February range. Coincidence? Not really... It turns out that January is the age cutoff for players. Players born in January are the oldest of their class year. They are bigger than other kids in the same year. At the age of five, those five to eight months of difference creates a significant edge. The January players get noticed, and get more attention than others. This attention leads to more opportunities, which makes them better, which gives them more opportunities, etc. The kids born towards the end of the class year don't end up with the same advantages as they're smaller. The net result is that these Junior A stars may think that they've achieved this level through pure skill, but the real answer is that they've achieved quite a lot simply by being born in January...
Gladwell uses this insight to dig into other success stories and general assumptions (such as all Asians being good at math). In all the cases, he found solid evidence to point to other external factors that gave these people and groups an edge beyond "hard work". The Asian/math phenomenon can be tied back to language that enables young children to understand math concepts much more easily than does English. Korea Air plane crashes were not due to Koreans being bad pilots. It was tied to a culture of deference that kept crew members from openly questioning the captain, thereby forcing communication to follow a ritualized pattern to avoid offense. Once you're made aware that the "lone wolf" pattern is rarely a complete story, Gladwell's findings cause a lot of things to fall into place when it comes to achievement. Basically, you are who you are because of those who came before you.
I really enjoyed this book. I've often thought there had to be more behind the "self-made man" stories, and Gladwell confirms it. That's not to say that someone can't overcome the odds, that they can't be born in December and become a hockey all-star. But it forces you to look behind the obvious feel-good stories to find other answers. Even if you don't agree with the conclusions that Gladwell reaches, you'll be forced to think. A recommended read...
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