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Summary Of Outliers By Malcolm Gladwell

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In the excerpt, Outliers: The Story of Success, the author Malcolm Gladwell supports his claim, the ten thousand hour rule, by discussing about a study from Berlin Academy, experts’ opinions, and an anecdote of Mozart. Gladwell’s evidence however, is either insufficient or faulty logic. The study of violinists from Berlin Academy is not enough to prove Gladwell’s claim. In this study, violinists were divided into three groups: the elite students, the merely good students, and the students with little potential aiming to become music teachers (11). After the amount of hours each group practiced was revealed, Gladwell states, “…the elite performers had each totaled ten thousand hours…the merely good students had totaled eight thousand and future music teachers had totaled just over four thousand.” (12) As much as this study makes his …show more content…

This one sample does not entirely determine the success of people who practice hours and hours; it only applies to this group of violinists. Had Gladwell discussed about more similar cases, it could’ve possibly proved his claim more accurate. As for the experts’ opinions, Gladwell did not establish enough credibility to show the reader that what the experts are saying is reliable. For example, Gladwell writes, “…writes the neurologist Daniel Levitin…” (12) He did not mention any facts or information about Levitin other than that he is a neurologist. In addition, he writes, “The music critic Harold Schonberg goes further…” (13) With this much information, how can readers trust the experts’ opinions. Without credibility, the experts’ opinions are untrustworthy. The anecdote of Mozart on the other hand, is rather irrelevant to the text. Gladwell refers to a passage from psychologist Michael Howe’s Genius Explained that states Mozart’s early compositions were not the most

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In the book, Outliers, written by Malcolm Gladwell in 2008, he suggests in order to become a successful person in the world, you have to certain hidden advantages or chances that others didn't have. Gladwell supports his claim by using real life examples about success such as "Seventeen out of twenty-five players on the team were born in January, February, March, or April" (23) to why certain hockey players in Canada become great and then on page 46 when he states how Bill Joy "probably programmed eight to ten hours a day" because the "Michigan system happened to have a bug in it", which allowed him to "program as much as he wanted" and led to him becoming something special and finally throughout chapter 2 when he uses Chris Langen as an example

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The argument developed in Chapter 3 and 4 of the Outliers contends that IQ beyond a point is not a determining factor in success. Gladwell implies that a higher IQ to a certain extent is optimal but once a defined threshold has been achieved, having greater intelligence provides limited or possibly no additional benefits in the attainment of success. An analogy in the book that is used to convince us that opportunity matters more that talent is an example from the studies of Annette Lareau comprised of a group of third graders residing in lower and middle/upper income households. Her studies showed that the middle/upper class students were provided opportunities to cultivate their talent/abilities in a meaningful way along with support and

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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.

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Leonhardt imposes this certain idea to the reader, the idea known as “chance”. Considering how gladwell had successful parents influenced his way to becoming a successful journalist was evidently by chance. He also continues on this topic, stating that, “he is instead a talented person who took advantage of singular opportunities” (Leonhardt579). I see myself similar to Malcolm Gladwell not in a journalistic point of view, but in the art of music. Music has

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There is one thing that every person wants to know throughout their life. Our destiny and whether we have the ability to make it successful or if natural abilities predetermine it for us. Many different authors and scientist have argued this question for years. Authors Malcolm Gladwell and David Epstein found one another on contrasting sides of the subject. Malcolm Gladwell, author of "Outliers", concluded that humans have more control over their success in life.

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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.).

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One of the studies that Gladwell bases much of his thesis off of is the study of the students of Berlin’s elite Academy of Music. He says that the top group of violinists, with the potential to become world-class soloists, were that good because they had practiced ten thousand hours, while the second-best group had practiced eight thousand hours, and the lowest-group had practiced just over four thousand hours. Gladwell makes it sound like every violinist in the top group had achieved the ten thousand hour mark, while the creators of the experiment have further cleared up that ten thousand was simply the average time spent practicing. Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool, two conductors of the study, say, “. . .

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This determination is much more influential than Crappell’s for he drew conclusions based on the direct source, which are the quitting students. Moreover, Crappell never even gives background of her own successes, therefore one could insist that she is a brand new music teacher trying to gain popularity in order to build up clientele, which would ultimately make her a very unreliable source. Crappell also does not speak of any counterpoints or arguments that she could have rebutted to make

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Argumentative Essay What if the phrase “practice makes perfect” wasn’t actually true? Malcolm Gladwell claims that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to perfect a skill, however, some people are starting to believe that may not be the case. “Your Genes Don’t Fit. Why 10,000 Hours of Practice, Won’t Make You an Expert”, argues that mastering a skill requires innate abilities along with practice.

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First of all, the opportunity of relative age that gives maturity from early birth date and extends the small advantage from maturity by giving them more experience refutes his assertion that success can be attained with only hard working. Secondly, the opportunity of having practical intelligence that enables people to change the situation in a good way refutes his assertion that success can be achieved by only self- assertiveness. Lastly, the opportunity of fulfilling 10,000 hours practice that gives a chance to achieve basic requirements to become an outlier refutes his assertion that success can be achieved when people imagined the world on their own using mind and imagination. Finally, to shape the world that people desire, people are required more opportunities than factors that Gladwell

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Malcolm Gladwell stated in his book, Outliers, that “There’s no such thing as a self-made man and that super achievers are successful because of their circumstances, their families, and their appetite for hard work.” to explain countless stories of how success could be determined on a person’s culture, month they were born, and parent’s profession and without these success should not be accomplished. He goes to describe stories of korean pilots, chess masters, and IQ “geniuses” in support of his thesis and for the most part, the two seem to fit almost perfectly. However, this is does not coexist with the common law of human nature because as its namesake, these are the true “outliers”. In everyday life, people born in January are not automatically

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Is college still important and relevant? The question is answered and confirmed when Liz Addison, author of “Two Years Are Better than Four”, wrote a counter argument in order to disprove the opposing views of Rick Perlstein, the author of, “What’s the Matter with College”. The topic that is being brought to light is the subject of whether or not college still matters. Perlstein that college is no longer what it used to be. It was after reading Perlstein’s article that Addison masterfully wrote her counter argument which successfully contradicted the opinionated, inaccurate views of Rick Perlstein.

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Chapter 7- The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes Malcolm Gladwell claims that one’s culture differences, such as power distance and communication, can dramatically affect the performance of a task. He uses the environment of flying an airplane to illustrate his point. It opens with Gladwell describing the problem of South Korean airlines. These airlines had a much higher loss rate than most other countries.

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Gladwell 's main argument is that although hard work and talent are essential for success, one’s given opportunities and cultural legacy are what really drive them to the pinnacle of success. The first aspect that Gladwell introduces to support his argument is the importance of opportunity. One example that he talks about is “The Matthew Effect”. “The Matthew Effect” is shown through the Medicine Hat Tigers elite hockey team of Canada; if one was to look at the roster, which includes their birth dates, they would find something quite peculiar.

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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.

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