Outliers- finished!

At the finish of the book, Outliers by Malcom Gladwell, I am left feeling satisfied and well-informed, but also asking questions with a newfound curiosity for the topics. This, in my opinion, is exactly what an author should do. While Gladwell discusses factors that make one successful— birthday, timing, practice, ethnicity, parents, and a lucky set of opportunities— he tends to neglect the idea of going against the odds. He often says that success is a result of luck, which, in part, is true. However, I am interesting in knowing about those successful people who are luckless: the ones who were born in a bad year, brought up in the wrong society, and were not presented with numerous opportunities. I want to read about the ones who went against the odds and became a success. At the end of the book, Gladwell claims that “The outlier, in the end, is not an outlier at all” (285). I contemplate whether or not this is true. It seems awfully pessimistic to say that success is luck, and is not awarded to those who necessarily deserve it. It seems almost cynical to claim that miracles do not occur. I am also left wondering the definition of success. This definition is different for everyone, and I'm curious to know if that contributes to ones "success". Overall, Malcom Gladwell did a wonderful job in researching and writing about how the successful came to be, and left the reader with a new outlook on success and a thirst to learn more.

Outliers

Outliers by Malcom Gladwell is not a book I would have thought to read, but I started it when I was on vacation in the Middle East, where I had few choices of books that were in English. However, because of Gladwell’s, choice of topic areas and unique style of writing, I find myself enjoying the book. Outliers is “The story of Success” according to the front cover. Throughout the book, Gladwell describes what it takes to be successful (such as 10,000 hours of practice) and how who you are determines how accomplished you will be. A section of the book that I found particularly interesting is about plane crashes and what it takes to be a successful pilot. Gladwell uses quotes from recordings of pilots before they crash, which makes an otherwise boring chapter, quite interesting. He analyzes these quotes so deeply that he discovers that it is typically the pilot or captain’s personality that causes a plain crash. Gladwell also uses the pilot or captain’s personality to characterize their nationality. For example, according to Gladwell, Americans are generally direct people, and Koreans have many very polite cultural traditions—to be a good pilot, you need to be able to plainly point out your superior’s mistakes. Those who are overly polite have a difficult time doing this, making Americans the better pilot, by nature. Gladwell’s bluntness makes Outliers both controversial and fascinating. By digging deeper into analysis, Gladwell shares with the reader his discoveries about seemingly simplistic events.