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“These were history's gifts to my family—and if the resources of that grocer, the fruits of those riots, the possibilities of that culture, and the privileges of that skin tone had been extended to others, how many more would now live a life of fulfillment, in a beautiful house high on a hill?” (285).

Gladwell is successful in making the reader understand the importance of circumstance and opportunity. Although, I think his ideal vision for the world is unrealistic. Through human history, poverty and differences between social classes have been evident. In order to get rid of social class differences then society would have to change instrumentally. The government would likely become overpowering and freedom would be negated. The utopia that Gladwell pictures is admirable, but unfortunately, it is impossible to achieve without tremendous individual sacrifice.

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“To build a better world we need to replace the patchwork of lucky breaks and arbitrary advantages that today determine success—the fortunate birth dates and the happy accidents of history—with a society that provides opportunities for all” (268).

What Gladwell says here sounds like a great idea in order to promote equality. The only problem is Gladwell does not offer any specific ways in which the people of the world should achieve this. Ultimately, he does this in order to get the reader to think about how the world should accomplish this and get rid of outliers and lucky breaks. There is no one solution to this dilemma, but using his influence as a well-known writer, Gladwell hopes to steer people in the direction of equality.

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“So, which places are at the top of both lists? The answer shouldn't surprise you: Singapore, South Korea, China (Taiwan), Hong Kong, and Japan. What those five have in common, of course, is that they are all cultures shaped by the tradition of wet-rice agriculture and meaningful work.* They are the kinds of places where, for hundreds of years, penniless peasants, slaving away in the rice paddies three thousand hours a year, said things to one another like "No one who can rise before dawn three hundred sixty days a year fails to make his family rich” (249).

Gladwell implies in this section that the people of East Asia are better at mathematics and work harder than their Western counter parts, because of their cultural legacy that stems from the sophisticated work in agriculture. However, a stronger work ethic in these parts of the world did not necessarily lead to a better quality of life. Take for example the Kung bushmen of the Kalahari desert in Botswana who gather nuts and work only 12-19 hours a week. That small number allows for significantly more leisure time than the rice farmers of East Asia.

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“Greenberg wanted to give his pilots an alternate identity. Their problem was that they were trapped in roles dictated by the heavy weight of their country's cultural legacy. They needed an opportunity to step outside those roles when they sat in the cockpit, and language was the key to that transformation. In English, they would be free of the sharply denned gradients of Korean hierarchy: formal deference, informal deference, blunt, familiar, intimate, and plain. Instead, the pilots could participate in a culture and language with a very different legacy” (219).

I understand the reasons behind why Greenberg forced his Korean pilots to speak English, but I wonder whether it is disrespectful to ignore a group of peoples culture completely. Could he have not have instructed the Korean pilots to ignore the Korean hierarchy within the framework of the Korean language? I think that by telling Koreans to speak English, Greenberg is making a declaration that their culture is inferior to Western culture. Greenberg should have tried to work with the Korean language in a different manner rather than completely ignoring it.

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“Similarly, the pioneer of public education in Massachusetts, Horace Mann, believed that working students too hard would create a ‘most pernicious influence upon character and habits Not infrequently is health itself destroyed by over-stimulating the mind” (253).

Pernicious-(adj) having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way.

The selfish boy had a pernicious impact on his team.

“The land was fallow only briefly” (254).

Fallow-(adj) (of farmland) plowed and harrowed but left unsown for a period in order to restore its fertility as part of a crop rotation or to avoid surplus production.

The farmers left the land fallow in order to maximize its outcome in the future.

“Marita used to go to a parochial school down the street from her home, until her mother heard of KIPP” (263)

Parochial-(adj) relating to a church parish

Parochial schools curriculum includes many religious ideas and secular subjects,

“On the strength of that performance, 90 percent of KIPP students get scholarships to private or parochial high schools instead of having to attend their own desultory high schools in the Bronx” (267).

Desultory-(adj) lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm.

The sad boy made only a desultory effort to complete his homework.

“Laws were passed prohibiting miscegenation, the last of which were not struck down by the U S Supreme Court until 1967” (277).

Miscegenation-(n) the interbreeding of people considered to be of different racial types.

Apartheid policies in South Africa prohibited miscegenation by enforcing laws that prevented interracial marriage.

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“The "culture of honor" hypothesis says that it matters where you're from, not just in terms of where you grew up or where your parents grew up, but in terms of where your great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents grew up and even where your great-great-great grandparents grew up. That is a strange and powerful fact. It's just the beginning, though, because upon closer examination, cultural legacies turn out to be even stranger and more powerful than that” (170).

Once again, it appears that Gladwell is making a giant assumption based on a small amount of data. To call Southern people quicker to rage because of their ancestors culture is ignoring how much society has changed since then. With modern technology, the cultural differences between the North and the South has blended significantly. Differences still remain, but overall the United States has moved on from its past self.

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“The plain truth of the Terman study, however, is that in the end almost none of the genius children from the lowest social and economic class ended up making a name for themselves” (112).

The fact that even the poor that are geniuses see less success calls into question the quality of America’s education system and American society as a whole. In the United States, people are supposed to have socio-economic mobility, but Gladwell has shown the reader that the ability to move up in class is almost nonexistent. It is possible that the poor are socially not as equppied to obtain wealth, but I believe it is more likely that the rich in America like to keep the money in the hands of the rich.

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“It's the culture you find yourself in that determines that. The issue with Chris is that he was always too bored to actually sit there and listen to his teachers. If someone had recognized his intelligence and if he was from a family where there was some kind of value on education, they would have made sure he wasn't bored” (110).

The importance of the environment that surrounds you cannot be underestimated. In Langan’s case, there was no emphasis to achieve academic success, nor were there individuals in Langan’s life that could recognize Langan’s innate genius. Oppenheimer, on the other hand, was born to rich parents who valued education and were able to see his genius and help him to capitalize off of it.

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“Here we have two very brilliant young students, each of whom runs into a problem that imperils his college career. Langan’s mother has missed a deadline for his financial aid. Oppenheimer has tried to poison his tutor. To continue on, they are required to plead their cases to authority. And what happens? Langan gets his scholarship taken away, and Oppenheimer gets sent to a psychiatrist. Oppenheimer and Langan might both be geniuses, but in other ways, they could not be more different” (98).

Gladwell here is demonstrating the tremendous value of interpersonal skills. Langan lacked interpersonal skills leading to his surprising lack of success, but Oppenheimer flourished when it came to communication. By communicating with others he was able to get past this incident and eventually achieve success. This quote is also demonstrating the benefits that come with having a high socio-economic status. Oppenheimer was wealthy and thus received a second chance, while Langan was poor and seemingly disrespected.

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"I thought he would somehow find a niche” (95).

Niche- (n) a comfortable or suitable position in life or employment

The migrant worker found his niche in a cobbler shop.

“Without a degree, Langan floundered” (95).

Flounder-(v) to struggle or stagger helplessly

The job-less man floundered in search of work.

“Two others were in the haberdashery business, one had a graphic design studio, another made feather hats, and another worked in the finance department at Tishman Realty” (129).

Haberdasher-(n)   A haberdasher is a person who sells small articles for sewing, such as buttons, ribbons and zippers, or a men's outfitter

The family sold their sheets and unworn clothing to a haberdasher.

“And from then on, he became very much a scrivener-type lawyer” (133).

Scrivener-(n) a clerk, scribe, or notary.

The scrivener wrote everything down for the lawyer.

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“For that matter, it is not all that different from the way the world of classical music picks its future virtuosos, or the way the world of ballet picks its future ballerinas, or the way our elite educational system picks its future scientists and intellectuals” (17)

Virtuoso- (n) a person highly skilled in music or another artistic pursuit

Mozart and Beethoven became virtuosos of the piano.

“There, Oppenheimer, who struggled with depression his entire life, grew despondent. His gift was for theoretical physics, and his tutor, a man named Patrick Blackett (who would win a Nobel Prize in 1948), was forcing him to attend to the minutiae of experimental physics, which he hated” (65).

Despondent- (adj) in low spirits from loss of hope or courage.

The teenager grew despondent after he failed to get into his dream college.

.

“Their educational attainments were noted, marriages followed, illnesses tabulated, psychological health charted, and every promotion and job change dutifully recorded” (74).

Tabulate- (v) to count, record, or list systematically

The man who did the scoreboard tabulated all the statistics from the game.

“He's a little subversive and libidinous” (87).

Subversive- (adj) tending or intending to subvert or overthrow, destroy, or undermine an established or existing system, especially a legally constituted government or a set of beliefs.

The subversive man sought to overthrow the government.

Libidinous- (adj) showing excessive sexual drive; lustful.

Libidinous behavior is inappropriate at school and at work.

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“Florence's IQ is higher than Poole's. But that means little, since both students are above the threshold” (88).

Gladwell believes that in order for one to be successful they need to only be above a certain threshold of intelligence. I concur with this conclusion. A less-intelligent but harder working person is likely to surpass their more intelligent but complacent peers. Yet, both people will be able to be successful in their particular field because they have obtained enough knowledge to be productive. Ultimately, what this situation does is negate the value of having a high IQ and put greater importance on one’s work ethic.

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“But what truly distinguishes their histories is not their extraordinary talent but their extraordinary opportunities” (55).

Throughout the piece, Gladwell repeatedly discusses how opportunity is more important than talent. In addition, Gladwell shows that a rich person often fares better than an equally talented poor person. I believe this shows something about the problem that the United States has with equality of opportunity. Rich people often become more successful because of society’s respect for them and the poor are often left behind. I don’t believe there is any one solution to fix this problem, but making college more accessible to the poor is definitely a good place to start.

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“Achievement is talent plus preparation. The problem with this view is that the closer psychologists look at the careers of the gifted, the smaller the role innate talent seems to play and the bigger the role preparation seems to play” (38).

Gladwell is arguing in this quote that preparation plays a greater role than talent. Gladwell goes on to support his claim by polling violinists and discovers that the more talented ones have practiced more. Overall, I think Gladwell’s argument is not proved by the evidence he presented. I believe that all different activities require a different talent to preparation ratio. For example, look at the sport of basketball. Being undersized and unathletic makes it almost impossible to become a professional basketball player. However, those who are seven feet tall have a 17% chance at becoming professional. Gladwell’s argument may apply to certain activities, but to make the assumption that preparation is always more important than talent is narrow-minded.

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“Canadian hockey is a meritocracy. Thousands of Canadian boys begin to play the sport at the “novice” level, before they are even in kindergarten. From that point on, there are leagues for every age class, and at each of those levels, the players are sifted and sorted and evaluated, with the most talented separated out and groomed for the next level. By the time players reach their midteens, the very best of the best have been channeled into an elite league known as Major Junior A, which is the top of the pyramid. And if your Major Junior A team plays for the Memorial Cup, that means you are at the very top of the top of the pyramid” (16).

In this paragraph, Malcolm Gladwell is trying to show the reader how much of machine that Canadian youth hockey leagues are as they work to their goal of churning out the best players. Gladwell deeming Canadian you hockey a “meritocracy” reveals how the age and development of the children seems to have been forgotten, because organizations only care about the talent. This harsh reality of Canadian hockey should be concerning for parents of these children

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Due Dates for Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
11/30 1-95 Part 1
12/7   95-190 Part 2
12/15  190-285 Part 3