Premium Essay

Myth In Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers

Submitted By
Words 941
Pages 4
From Jay Gatsby to Don Draper, the self-made man is a staple of American fiction. It is not very difficult to understand why. They speak to a central aspect of the American creation myth: the idea that no matter where you are from, no matter who you are, America is the land of opportunity. There is certainly a significant measure of skepticism towards this notion in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s contemporary take on the Jazz Age, but there nevertheless exists a widely held romantic view of these characters, and of the myth they represent, even if it’s not encouraged by the creators of these fictions. In Malcolm Gladwell’s inspiring novel Outlier illustrates the many ways in which society’s most successful people benefit from hidden advantages, and offers some compelling thoughts on how to level the playing field. Gladwell’s central argument, that no one rises to the pinnacle of their profession without many advantages, seems at first hardly controversial. …show more content…
If these figures are harsh, they should be. There is no reason why an individual’s innate ability should be determined by month of birth. So what is the cause? Gladwell points to the cutoff birth date for minor hockey leagues: January 1st. A player born in December is thus nearly a year younger than his fellow players with January birthdays. At the youngest levels, this amounts to a significant disadvantage, though one more of size than skill. But those bigger kids are then selected earlier, which means more practice for them and better instruction. It is not difficult to see how a coincidence of birth date comes to determine the probability of future

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Story Of Success

...Haitham Mishal Engl 1A 0013 Prof. Nathan Connolly 28 November 2017 Outliers Homework #5 In Outliers, Gladwell conjectures why a few people have achievement path outside of measurable standards. These factual exceptions, accomplish at levels considerably higher than ordinary effective people do. One could state that Gladwell really alludes to his contention in the subtitle of his book. As indicated by his hypothesis of progress, it is the story encompassing a person that decides achievement considerably more so than a person's drive, knowledge or other individual attributes over which he states and explains in his book. In Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell, as most well-known books managing examples of overcoming adversity,...

Words: 1284 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Otliners

...Outliers: The Story of Success Published in 2008, Outliers: The Story of Success is Malcolm Gladwell’s third consecutive best-selling nonfiction book, following Tipping Point (2000) and Blink (2005). While Tipping Point focuses on the individual’s ability to effect change in society, Outliers deals with the cultural and societal forces that give an individual a chance. Through a series of case studies, Gladwell insists that we have all too easily bought into the myth that successful people are self-made; instead, he says they “are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot.” Gladwell defines an outlier as a person out of the ordinary “who doesn't fit into our normal understanding of achievement.” According to Gladwell, great men and women are made from having success with ability, opportunities to become successful with 10,000 of practice, IQ not being the only thing needed, and that everything comes down to generation, family history, and demographics of society. Gladwell is able to support them and give great examples on how things work out with a person’s life. “The Matthew Effect” examines opportunity as a function of timing. Canadian hockey players born closer to the magic birthday of January 1 reap advantages that compound over time. Computer programmers Bill Joy and Bill Gates, both born in the 1950s...

Words: 1409 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Outliers Review

...Outliers summary When it comes to success, we are taught from day one that hard work, perseverance and the will to succeed would overcome any obstacle. Every day, the stories of success can be shared and used to inspire others who hope to one day reach similar happiness. The extremely incredible entrepreneur who rose from rags to riches or the tale of the underdog sports team that surprised all competitors and won the championship are the stories that continuously drive the dreams of individuals and make success seem possible to all. But what if success was not attainable for all, regardless of work ethic and all other factors that may contribute to it. What if, based on predetermined occurrences, success was easier for some to obtain because of those occurrences? The Outliers written by Malcolm Gladwell, is the author’s compiled study of success and how it very much so can be attributed to all of the normal factors (i.e. talent, work ethic, passion) but are also heavily influenced by the cultural and societal forces that give rise to opportunistic individuals. Through several cases of well known individuals who are deemed to be successful, we as a society easily fall into the myth that successful people are self-made. Gladwell writes that most successful people “are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot.” Gladwell’s definition...

Words: 807 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Story of Success

...Outliers THE S T O R Y OF S U C C E S S MALCOLM G LAD W E L L # 1 bestselling author of The Tipping Point and Blink $27.99 $ 3 0 . 9 9 in C a n a d a Why d o s o m e p e o p l e succeed far more than others? T h e r e is a story that is usually told a b o u t extremely successful p e o p l e , a story that focuses o n intelligence a n d ambition. In Outliers Malcolm Gladwell a r g u e s that the true story o f s u c c e s s is very different, a n d that if we want to u n d e r s t a n d h o w s o m e p e o p l e thrive, we s h o u l d s p e n d m o r e time l o o k i n g around them — at s u c h things as their family, their birthplace, or even their birth d a t e . T h e story o f s u c c e s s is m o r e c o m p l e x — a n d a lot m o r e interesting — than it initially a p p e a r s . Outliers e x p l a i n s w h a t the B e a t l e s a n d Bill G a t e s have in c o m m o n , the e x t r a o r d i n a r y s u c c e s s o f A s i a n s at m a t h , the h i d d e n a d v a n t a g e s o f star athletes, why all t o p N e w York lawyers have the s a m e r é s u m é , a n d the r e a s o n y o u ' v e never h e a r d o f the w o r l d ' s s m a r t e s t m a n — all in terms o f g e n ­ eration, family, c u l t u r e , a n d c l a s s . It matters w h a t year y o u were b o r n if y o u want to b e a S i l i c o n Valley billionaire, G l a d w e l l a r g u e s , a n d it matters w h e r e y o u w e r e b o r n if y o u want to b e a s u c ­ cessful p i l o t . T...

Words: 86962 - Pages: 348

Free Essay

Kiki

...THE B L A C K SWAN The HIGHLY I mpact IM of the PROBABLE Nassim Nicholas Taleb U.S.A. $26.95 Canada $34.95 is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: It is unpre­ dictable; it carries a massive impact; and, after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random, and more predictable, than it was. The astonishing success of Google was a black swan; so was 9 / 1 1 . For Nassim Nicholas Taleb, black swans underlie almost everything about our world, from the rise of religions to events in our own personal lives. A BLACK SWAN Why do we not acknowledge the phenomenon of black swans until after they occur? Part of the answer, according to Taleb, is that humans are hardwired to learn specifics when they should be focused on generalities. We concentrate on things we already know and time and time again fail to take into consideration what we don't know. We are, therefore, unable to truly estimate oppor­ tunities, too vulnerable to the impulse to simplify, narrate, and categorize, and not open enough to rewarding those who can imagine the "impossible." For years, Taleb has studied how we fool our­ selves into thinking we know more than we actually do. We restrict our thinking to the irrelevant and inconsequential, while large events continue to surprise us and shape our world. Now, in this reve­ latory book, Taleb explains everything we know about what we don't know. He offers...

Words: 158140 - Pages: 633

Premium Essay

Busi

...THE Professional Practice S E R I E S James W. Smither Manuel London EDITORS Performance Management Putting Research into Action A Publication of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Performance Management The Professional Practice Series The Professional Practice Series is sponsored by The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Inc. (SIOP). The series was launched in 1988 to provide industrial and organizational psychologists, organizational scientists and practitioners, human resources professionals, managers, executives and those interested in organizational behavior and performance with volumes that are insightful, current, informative and relevant to organizational practice. The volumes in the Professional Practice Series are guided by five tenets designed to enhance future organizational practice: 1. Focus on practice, but grounded in science 2. Translate organizational science into practice by generating guidelines, principles, and lessons learned that can shape and guide practice 3. Showcase the application of industrial and organizational psychology to solve problems 4. Document and demonstrate best industrial and organizationalbased practices 5. Stimulate research needed to guide future organizational practice The volumes seek to inform those interested in practice with guidance, insights, and advice on how to apply the concepts, findings, methods, and tools derived from industrial...

Words: 215279 - Pages: 862

Premium Essay

Performance Management

...Professional Practice S E R I E S THE James W. Smither Manuel London EDITORS Performance Management Putting Research into Action A Publication of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Performance Management The Professional Practice Series The Professional Practice Series is sponsored by The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Inc. (SIOP). The series was launched in 1988 to provide industrial and organizational psychologists, organizational scientists and practitioners, human resources professionals, managers, executives and those interested in organizational behavior and performance with volumes that are insightful, current, informative and relevant to organizational practice. The volumes in the Professional Practice Series are guided by five tenets designed to enhance future organizational practice: 1. Focus on practice, but grounded in science 2. Translate organizational science into practice by generating guidelines, principles, and lessons learned that can shape and guide practice 3. Showcase the application of industrial and organizational psychology to solve problems 4. Document and demonstrate best industrial and organizationalbased practices 5. Stimulate research needed to guide future organizational practice The volumes seek to inform those interested in practice with guidance, insights, and advice on how to apply the concepts, findings, methods, and tools derived from industrial and organizational psychology...

Words: 215290 - Pages: 862