Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
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Book Reviews of Outliers: The Story of Success
Book Review: Perceptions...
Summary: 5 Stars
Most people perceive "Outliers" as a book that highlights a logic behind success that has more to do with a legacy and opportunity than a high IQ.
Let's rephrase this a bit. "Outliers" are observations of the writer in relation to why some people are able to score financial success while others, with apparently higher intelligence, must bite the dust. The book is about Financial success.
The underlying force that makes a financial success is the need of every human being for a system of support and guidance. The success stories show a silent sustenance of an intelligence, usually older person(s) totally supporting the endeavors of the one that becomes the financial success the book speaks of.
It does make wonder whether humans are puppets on a string played against each other in the arena of Earth by some subconscious force basically our own; the average person has very little knowledge of, how it works, how it fits together with the conscious, and part of the collective mindset. Emotional intelligence has more to do with it than a High IQ. Would "Bill Gates = Microsoft" be an entity without his parents and friends?
One such remarkable observation is a passage on page 142 - 9.:
"Jewish immigrants like the Floms and the Borgenichts and the Janklows were not like the other immigrants who came to America in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Irish and the Italians were peasants, tenant farmers from the impoverished countryside of Europe. Not So with the Jews. For centuries in Europe, Jews had been forbidden to own land, so they had clustered in cities and towns, taking up urban trades and professions.
70% of the Eastern European Jews who came through Ellis Island in the 1930s or before WWI had some kind of occupational skill."
A fact of American History often ignored.
Whether birth-dates are crucial to become a hockey star is debatable...this has more to do with the cut-off dates imposed by the organizers and where each person's individual birth date is in relation of these cut-off dates.
The same is applicable in the field of education: to enter a class where automatically, as a result of your birth date, you are the oldest of the class, enjoying the opportunities of your maturity that makes learning an easy ride versus a person with a birth date that makes him/her the youngest of the class and a possibility of showing problems with both maturity and comprehension.
As the saying goes: "Your environment can make or break you". The book shows the importance of the environment in which one is born, a support system that comes in many shapes and forms, to facilitate automatically failure or success. "Outliers" is a great read for any parent or educator with adequate documentation.
Book Review: A brilliant book. Gladwell does it again!
Summary: 5 Stars
Bad points: (None)
Good points (There are so many that I will have to leave off a few for the sake of brevity) :
1. The writing style here is excellent. There are no wasted words and long digressions, and the whole book can be read over the course of an afternoon or two. The clear and cogent arguments seemed to leap off the pages.
2. The discussion of Jewish clothing merchants finally included a very subtle point that most people have not appreciated. If you have someone who starts off as a merchant, it is much easier for them to make the transition to professional than it is if you are starting off as a factory worker. It seems that the preponderance of Jews in law is some accident of history (since other groups with a comparable IQs didn't end up so heavily represented in law).
3. His chapter on Asian math ability was also something very good. I do know that his observations on the monosyllabic Chinese language were correct. It just never occurred to me that the brevity of the language was a major factor in explaining why the average Asian is better at math than most. His observation on the math skills being dependent on the TYPE of agriculture cultivated was very subtle and plausible.
4. One can imagine a plane crash happening because of miscommunication between pilots happening in exactly the way that he described it. Verbal subterfuge is a very common theme in talking with people in Asia. This topic alone could have taken up another two chapters, but Gladwell gave us a just-sufficient dose and then left it to us to read some of the bibliographical materials.
5. There has always been a question as to whether IQ is a something that has a threshhold value (i.e., if you fall below a certain point is there something that you just can NEVER do) or is it something that has a linear response (i.e., if you have an IQ of a lower level that it will just take you more time to do the same thing that it would take a higher IQ person to do?). He exposed us to how IQ behaves across the whole spectrum.
6. The author was as nice as he could possibly be when he demonstrated the existence of the high IQ fool (i.e., Chris Langan). He quoted some of the nonsense that this man said but was nice enough to leave it to the reader to fill in the blanks.
7. Gladwell managed to return to the theme of physical environment (weather/ mountains/ farming conditions) as an explanation of many things many times. The observations were given at various points throughout the text (and not as one never-ending topic) and this made it much more interesting.
8. Many social sciences don't go about the business of explaining things that ACTUALLY EXIST. This is one book that bucks that trend and does it with great deftness.
Book Review: Gladwell strikes again!
Summary: 5 Stars
Love him or hate him, agree or disagree with his theses, the one thing you can't argue with is Malcolm Gladwell knows how to tell a story. Continuing with the successful form used in his two earlier novels, The Tipping Point and Blink, the longtime writer for the New Yorker tackles various forms of success in his latest, Outliers. Using an easily readable style full of historical, sociological, and psychological studies interspersed with fascinating anecdotes from the involved parties, Gladwell creates vivid and compelling arguments for the success of groups and individuals as varied as Canadian hockey players, mergers and acquisitions attorneys, and Bill Gates. He also puts a unique twist on such stereotypes as "Asians are better at math than other ethnic groups," essentially proving them, but not necessarily for the reasons you expect.
The most amazing thing about Gladwell's thesis is that the formula for success is one that just about anyone can implement. Like a lot of self-help books, Outliers' explanations just feel right; they're borderline common sense but the ways in which they're described is done with such precision and clarity that you can't help but walk away feeling like you've read something profound. Gladwell's topics tickle something in the back of our minds, something that says, "Yes, this really is how stuff works."
That being said, the one criticism I have of Outliers (as well as Gladwell's other books) is that it may be too powerful. In all of his works, the author goes out of his way to point out that there are unconventional reasons behind some pretty complex aspects of life, but then focuses exclusively on these unique parts. It is this focus that tends to get readers thinking about other possible non-intuitive causes for not only undiscussed areas of life, but also for the aspects Gladwell himself discusses! Eventually you start thinking, for example, that coming from a rice growing culture isn't the only reason why Asians excel at math; that maybe, just maybe, there are other, unthought of elements behind it. But, in all reality, this is an empty criticism, since when did a novel that gets you thinking too much become a bad thing?
And, in the end, Malcolm Gladwell's works are always a fun ride. His popularity no doubt stems from his storyteller ability, which typically revolves around a mysterious setup, followed by a building tension, and then hitting you with the reveal. This may be formulaic, but its quite effective. And effective storytelling that gets you thinking? That's all right by me.
Book Review: Interesting Theories of Success
Summary: 5 Stars
In Outliers, The Story Of Success, Malcolm Gladwell shows research that puts forward the theory that success is a combination of factors. While intelligence plays a large part, so do birth order, cultural assumptions, and above all hard work. Individuals must have the ability to see opportunities and then have the skills to take advantage of them.
One of the earliest chapters focuses on professional hockey players. They are overwhelmingly born in the first three months of the year. Inexplicable coincidence? No, more likely that this phenomenon is the result of age cutoffs in sports teams, so that those born in January, February and March are usually the oldest on their teams, so more developed and more likely to be noticed. Those noticed are picked for more advanced teams where they get more training, better coaching and more practice and playing time, all of which give them the opportunity to become better players than those who are left on their first skill level teams.
This plays out over and over again when trends are seen. The dot-com millionaires? Almost all were born from 1952-1955, when the computer was first introduced to the public, and kids in schools could get hours upon hours of programming time. Successful musicians? Most practice hundreds more hours than those who just never quite make it to the top. Both groups are talented, but one group takes advantage of opportunities and hard work to develop that talent.
In one study, bright children in California were tested and tracked for over forty years. Although all started in the brightest groups, by adulthood they had fallen into the superstars, the average and those who didn't quite make it. Luck of the draw? That assumption can be challenged when the facts show that those in the bottom group almost overwhelmingly had parents who were uninvolved in their lives and who didn't help their children focus and refine their talents. Parenting styles seem to make a big difference.
Gladwell has written a thought-provoking book. His thesis can be summed up in this quote: "...success follows a predictable course. It is not the brightest who succeed. Nor is success simply the sum of the decisions and efforts we make on our own behalf. It is, rather, a gift. Outliers are those who have been given opportunities--and who have the strength and presence of mind to seize them. ...To build a better world we need to replace the patchwork of lucky breaks and arbitrary advantages that today determine success--the fortunate birth dates and the happy accidents of history--with a society that provides opportunities for all." This book is recommended for readers that are interested in learning how the world works and how we might improve it.
Book Review: A helpful framework for thinking about success
Summary: 5 Stars
Outliers is Malcolm Gladwell doing what he does best. He takes on a subject, in this case it's "success." He presents a series of views of the subject, where he serves up some interesting research, and a story or two.
Then he links up the different views with a red thread or two made up of his own insights. In this case that red thread is "there's more to success than being smart or talented." He wraps the thread around several success factors: talent; focused hard work; culture, coaching; and support.
Gladwell's main insight is not a new one. Researchers have known for years that talent or intelligence alone are not enough to guarantee success. Common sense supports it. Jokesters were onto it when they came up with the old line: "If you're so smart, why aren't you rich?"
There's really nothing strikingly new here. But the message of the book is still important. It's important because the two major belief systems of our age present much more simplistic pictures.
One belief system holds that talent is what rules the roost. If you're talented, then success can be yours. You have won the Genetic Lottery and all that's left is reaping the rewards.
The other belief system holds that you can do anything you want. With the right mental attitude, there are no limitations.
The great value of this book is that it demonstrates that both those ideas are simplistic nonsense. Success is more multi-faceted than either.
Let me pause here for a moment. If what you seek in a book like this one is a flashing new insight or if you want academic rigor and depth in the research, don't bother to buy the book. It's not for you.
If you're looking for a quick fix or a step-by-step method to achieve success, give this one a pass. It's not for you.
If you're looking for a book that will challenge some of your thinking about what goes into success, this is a worthwhile read. If you're seeking fresh ways to think about how success happens in your life, the lives of your loved ones and friends, and the lives of people you work with, this will be a book that you'll like.
Outliers won't give you a step-by-step plan for achieving success or helping your children or team members achieve it. But it will give you a framework for thinking about different drivers of success. It will give you ideas for doing something about the things that you can control.
Here's my bottom line. Don't buy Outliers if you want a quick success method, insights no one has had before, or deep academic research and reasoning. Do buy Outliers if you want a well-written book that will help you consider success in new and helpful ways.