Thoughts on Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers
I was caught in the middle of a friendly debate regarding Outliers a while ago; it went something like this: EM: Outliers is a great book! ST: Ya, but what practical good is it? EM: Well it explains how... ST: Okay, what's its thesis in a nutshell? EM: (gives articulate answer) but it's not that kind of book. ST: I don't get it... EM: read the book... Anyhow, I'd been wanting to read the book, so I borrowed it from EM. I told him I'd tell him what I thought, so here it goes: What jumps out at me -- in direct response to the question "what good is it?" -- is the notion that there are no rags-to-riches, self-made success stories. Behind every huge success (like Bill Gates) there is opportunity, hard-work, community and legacy (cultural background). Most of those things don't answer the question above because they're out of the individual's control. The one thing that is not is "Community". As a teacher/parent/fellow human being, tha...