ipl-logo

An Essay On Outliers By Malcolm Gladwell

596 Words3 Pages

Is success truly the product of hard work and talent, or is it instead the compilation of hidden advantages? The book Outliers, by Malcom Gladwell, questions society’s definition of success. According to society, people become successful from a combination of hard work, talent, and determination. However, Gladwell challenges this notion, stating that success arises from societal advantages and opportunities. For example, Gladwell discusses the age cut-off date for athletes. Children that are born closer to the age cut off are older than the other kids on their sports teams. This age cut off allows these older kids to be bigger than the younger kids, getting them more attention from their coaches, and eventually allowing them to have a more successful sports career. Therefore, through examples such as this, Gladwell argues that arbitrary factors have a monumental impact on one’s success. …show more content…

Gladwell’s emphasis on external factors made me much more thankful for the opportunities that I am given. Going to a challenging, private school, I am at an advantage compared to the majority of the world’s population. However, reading this book also gave me insight into the complexity of success. Growing up, society has always taught me that if I work hard, then I will be successful. Although this is a nice principle in theory, Gladwell argues that this is an illusion. Those who achieve success do in fact work hard; however, there are also countless other factors that play a role in one’s success. Therefore, reading this book opened by eyes to the complexity of success. It is not simply one thing that can lead a person to success. Instead, it is a culmination of many factors that can allow a person to have a successful

Show More
Related
548 Words | 3 Pages

Elements like diction and syntax plays an important role in the development of Malcolm Gladwell's thesis. This summary of his thesis is ‚We are so caught in the myths of the best and the brightest and the self-made that we think outliers spring naturally from the earth. To build a better world we need to replace the patchwork of lucky breaks and determine success. Gladwell uses diction and syntax to give depth and understanding to the target audience. In Outliers, Gladwell examines several different groups of people or individuals who went from rags to riches.

Read More
593 Words | 3 Pages

Pod Cast Malcom Gladwell is author of Outliers The story of success. Gladwell speaks on success how circumstances may out come your success but that may not be that case. Tony Robbins a motivational speaker, author, and philanthropist. Robbins doesn’t see circumstances as a determined factor.

Read More
750 Words | 3 Pages

The Wes Moore’s Success Can a person's successfulness really depend on on the way they were raised and environment they live in? Many argue that a person’s nature, other wise known as their physical surroundings, could affect how successful someone could become in their future. Others argue that it is a person's nurture that determine their successfulness. In “The Other Wes Moore,” Wes Moore, the author, and the other Wes Moore share the same name and similar lives, but only one manifested himself into a successful life. How did only one Wes Moore manage to make his life successful?

Read More
507 Words | 3 Pages

Employing the research method from the very beginning, Gladwell asserts that “those born in the last quarter of the year might as well give up” on athletics, based on a pattern he observed in certain Canadian hockey teams, most players being born in the beginning of the year (Gladwell 32). Though seemingly sound, his argument needs to be supported by more data, including figures from other sports, such as baseball, football, etc., as the data he puts forth, is only applicable to hockey. As it is not wholly representative of all athletes, this means his conclusion that athletes born in the beginning of the year are inherently better than their younger counterparts, is not necessarily

Read More
787 Words | 4 Pages

In the book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell uses the persuasive techniques such as figurative language, rhetorical questions, and analogies to persuade readers that the American view of success is wrong, and that success is the product of opportunities, hidden advantages, and hard work. In Chapter Two, these techniques are used to describe his idea of “The 10,000-Hour Rule” - that belief it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something. Gladwell’s basis for the 10,000-hour rule is that people who are experts in their field became so good from hidden and rare opportunities that allowed them to practice their skills. One example gladwell uses are The Beatles, whom Gladwell identifies as one of the most famous rock bands ever.

Read More
1042 Words | 5 Pages

behavior, learning and memory of an individual ( 1). While Dr. Noble noted the more affluent children possessed larger hippocampuses than their disadvantaged counterparts (Brain Trust 47), Hanson notes that the lifestyle of less affluent families affect the hippocampus negatively. For instance, maternal separation can negatively impact the hippocampus, I.e. working mother's. The lower the income a household has, the more stress it faces. Outstanding stress can have long-lasting negative effects on the hippocampus (1.).

Read More
1495 Words | 6 Pages

Malcom Gladwell, the author of The Outliers, analyzes the factors to success based on real-life example. Through statistical facts and logical reasoning, he attempts to prove how success is more than just hard work and being intelligent. He supports his arguments with accurately calculated statistical facts to gain the trust of his audience and to work towards 2proving his points. Gladwell determines the reasons of success by comparing well-known successful people and finding commonalities between those people. Gladwell does not believe anyone can be a self-made man.

Read More
1073 Words | 5 Pages

Intrinsic factors critically considered when people think about the main components of success. However, Malcolm Gladwell, a famous writer, contradicts this tendency through the book, Outliers. The book, Outliers insists that extrinsic factors define success rather than the intrinsic ones. Nonetheless, Gladwell himself goes against the topic of Outliers in his assertion: “if you work hard enough and assert yourself, and use your mind and imagination, you can shape the world to your desires (Gladwell, 2008).” The assertion implies that individuals could achieve success only with those intrinsic factors.

Read More
870 Words | 4 Pages

Success: Belief vs. Reality Many people in the U.S. assume that as long as they work tirelessly and strive towards their goal they will achieve it because they were told to have that attitude while growing up. Malcolm Gladwell thinks otherwise. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is a book that spreads the truth upon success and explains the different variables that can exponentially affect one’s career, and their future decisions. Gladwell touches on the conversation of whether the age of children really matters when enrolling them into school, stating that the older the child is the more likely they will be given greater opportunities.

Read More
746 Words | 3 Pages

Ten thousand hours or 10 years is the duration in which someone must be willing to practice in order to achieve world class expertise in any desired skill. Utilizing this much time is the phenomenon known as the 10,000 hour rule. However, time is not the only criteria in need of consideration; in fact, people are gifted in multiple ways, but people do not take the time to pursue their niches. Therefore, the 10,000 hour rule allows people to take the time to evolve their natural gifts. Some may argue that, in reality, having 10 years of practice makes a substantial difference in skill development.

Read More
1250 Words | 5 Pages

Think of success like watching a tree grow the branches split into different paths one can take each split is another opportunity to prosper and grow beautiful leaves like trophies. An uncommon belief is that the process of becoming successful is like a tree branch, if one starts off strong, more paths appear growing from the sturdy branch, and achieving goals lead to leaves growing to show wealth. “It is those who are successful, in other words, who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success,” (Gladwell 30). Author of nonfiction book Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell, agrees with this uncommon belief, in his book he argues that success does not come from intelligence or passion

Read More
776 Words | 4 Pages

Gladwell’s Argument in Outliers Success is a concept that is constantly altered and has a different meaning from person to person. The stereotypical definition of success would be someone who has a high-paying job or is in the upper-class. Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Outliers: The Story of Success, approaches the concept of success in a different and unique way. Gladwell discusses how opportunities, cultural legacy, and hard work all coincide with each other to produce real success. He uses mostly logic and multiple unrelated anecdotes to support and provide evidence for his statements.

Read More
526 Words | 3 Pages

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell teaches you the understanding of success. Malcolm Gladwell in the book Outliers uses logos, pathos, and ethos to get his argument across. Outliers was written for the purpose to show the audience that success isn’t all on how hard you work, raw talent, intelligence or personality traits. Success comes from your culture, who your parents are, when you were born and the opportunities you have been given. The argument by logic, emotion and character are all put into Outliers to convince the readers that success is what you make of it.

Read More
1996 Words | 8 Pages

We hear success stories everyday on the news and on television yet, there is no one who explains how these individuals became prosperous. In Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell creates a blueprint for success through a series of short stories. Gladwell dissects the stories and looks at the individual’s background to connect every story with his theories as well as using statistics and facts to show credibility and logic. This method allows the readers to better comprehend his

Read More
606 Words | 3 Pages

Outliers, written by Malcolm Gladwell, is an informational book regarding the intricacies of success and how it comes to fruition in individuals. Outliers has served to teach students the means of being successful and the importance of seizing opportunities as they come. Personally, Outliers has changed my views of success in numerous ways. Before reading said book, I had always assumed people who were naturally talented or had specific privileges were the only ones who could get far. However, Gladwell’s writing has informed me that anyone, if they are prepared to work hard, can reach their goals.

Read More

More about An Essay On Outliers By Malcolm Gladwell

Related Topics

Open Document