AP Language and Composition Dialectical Journal 1 by Michael Gobran https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell en-us 2016-10-12 19:54:55 UTC 2019-08-16 22:47:07 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padletuploads.blob.core.windows.net/aws/80961422/f3ce7749a9d5e7071c220444b031fa3993493cf0/926da18fbe111c4acc55d6aeb6b6e75d.jpg "Reed adds: 'The statistics show that the Southerner who can avoid arguments and adultery is as safe as any other American, and probably safer.' In the backcountry, violence wasn’t for economic gain. it was personal. You fought over your honor." (169) 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/130267141 In context, Malcolm Gladwell is describing how cultural legacies are extremely important, such as Southerners fighting for their honor. I agree with his point that upbringing and culture can have a profound impact on a person's character and morals, but I disagree with his attempt to categorize people based on their culture. Maybe the statement Gladwell is making is generally true for Southerners, but I think there is more that needs to be considered when profiling a group of people.]]> 2016-10-12 19:54:55 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/130267141 "Over the years, many potential explanations have been examined and debated, and the consensus appears to be that that region was plagued by a particularly virulent strain of what sociologists call a 'culture of honor.'" (166) 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/130267142
  • Virulent (adjective):  extremely dangerous and deadly and usually spreading very quickly
  • Before vaccines became widespread, many people died from virulent diseases that quickly spread from one city to another.
    • ]]>     2016-10-12 19:54:55 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/130267142     Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell Week 4 (pg. 161-210) October 14, 2016 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/130267143 2016-10-12 19:54:55 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/130267143 Reading Schedule 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/130267145  
    DUE DATES:  
    9/23- page 35
    9/30- page 100 
    10/7- page 160
    10/14- page 210
    10/21- page 260
    10/28- page 309 (end)]]>     2016-10-12 19:54:55 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/130267145     "His plane is moments from disaster. But he cannot escape the dynamic dictated to him by his culture in which subordinates must respect the dictates of their superiors." (208) 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/130267146 Gladwell is describing "the ethnic theory of plane crashes" in this chapter and goes through several detailed examples of how mitigation of language is due to culture and influences whether plane crashes happen. Gladwell's theory that culture is extremely influential is easily proven  in this scenario due to his plethora of specific evidence. I agree that subtleties in language influence how effectively people communicate, and I believe that in some cultures it is more easy to confront someone doing something dangerous to prevent disaster.]]> 2016-10-12 19:54:55 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/130267146 "A basketball player only has to be tall enough―and the same is true of intellingence. Intelligence has a threshold." (80) 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132224551 In this section of the text, Gladwell is making the argument that there is a limit to how much of a difference traits make past a certain point. I agree with Gladwell's idea that there is a threshold of intelligence, and his citation of statistics that show that the smartest and most successful people do not have the highest IQ's, but are still "smart enough" to be successful are convincing and interesting. This perspective may seem counter-intuitive at first, but evidence is presented logically to prove Gladwell's "threshold" thesis.]]> 2016-10-20 20:47:51 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132224551 “Once a musician has enough ability to get into a top music school, the thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works. That's it. And what's more, the people at the very top don't work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder.” (39) 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132224645 This quote is Gladwell's concession that although luck and opportunity are necessary for success, work ethic and effort are also extremely important elements. Gladwell tries to show that success is not only due to uncontrollable factors; hard work is also needed to achieve success. In context Gladwell is describing "The 10,000 Hour Rule"  and how successful people not only need to get lucky, but also need to work remarkably hard to become who they are.]]> 2016-10-20 20:48:21 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132224645 "Had he been just a bit older and had he had to face the drudgery of programming with computer cards, he says, he would have studied science." (67) 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132224939
  • Drudgery (adjective): hard, menial, or dull work
  • Because many people hate the drudgery of yard work, they have a company that comes in every other week to mows their lawn.

    • ]]>     2016-10-20 20:49:38 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132224939     Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell Week 2 (pg. 36-100) September 30, 2016 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132225288 2016-10-20 20:51:25 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132225288 Background and Reason for Choice of Book 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132225593 My name is Michael Gobran and I am a junior at Algonquin. I enjoy reading things that are relevant to me, and this nonfiction book by Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success, fits that description. As a high school student, there is a lot of pressure to be successful through hard work and dedication. However, this book takes an interestingly different approach by proving that success is a result of circumstance and luck.]]> 2016-10-20 20:52:58 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132225593 "Neighboring Bangor was largely Welsh and English, and the next town over was overwhelmingly German, which meant—given the fractious relationships between the English and Germans and Italians in those years—that Roseto stayed strictly for Rosetans." (5) 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132225746
  • Fractious (adjective):  causing trouble; hard to manage or control; full of anger and disagreement
  • The fractious crowd grew violent and revolted against the police.

    • ]]>     2016-10-20 20:53:41 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132225746     "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." (30) 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132225916 This quote clearly describes Gladwell's hypothesis how, in addition to skill and hard work, an "accumulative advantage" of opportunities is needed for success In context, Gladwell is describing how hockey players' birthdays in relation to an arbitrary cutoff date immensely affect their chances at making an elite junior team and later becoming professionals. I understand this coherent proposal and agree that successful people often receive extremely lucky opportunities.]]> 2016-10-20 20:54:27 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132225916 Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell Week 1 (pg. 1-35) September 23, 2016 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132226199 2016-10-20 20:55:55 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132226199 "And our opponent's counsel will answer with inordinate demands for all our files and seek endless interrogatories in order to enmesh our client in a hopeless tangle of red tape." (125) 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132226514
  • Inordinate (adjective):  going beyond what is usual, normal, or proper
  • Often times my brother spends an inordinate amount of time selecting the dish he will order at a restaurant.

    • ]]>     2016-10-20 20:58:02 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132226514     "It wasn't an excuse. It was a fact. He'd had to make his way alone, and no one—not rock stars, not professional athletes, not software billionaires, and not even geniuses— ever makes it alone." (115) 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132226685 In this quote, Malcolm Gladwell provides a summary for the examples used to prove his thesis that, in addition to hard work and talent, opportunities and luck are needed. The context of this chapter is describing how not all geniuses succeed, and that the people with the highest IQ's are often not the most renowned. The syntax of this sentence is effective and memorable, and provides an effective concluding sentence to an interesting chapter.]]> 2016-10-20 20:59:08 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132226685 "Those three things - autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward - are, most people will agree, the three qualities that work has to have if it is to be satisfying." (149) 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132226803 This statement in context is describing the lives of successful Jewish immigrants whose professions were often much more autonomous, complex, and rewarding than other immigrants. However, I disagree with this quote because it makes it seem as if a profession is successful if it is satisfying, and Gladwell's statement is not well supported by his usual style of presenting logical arguments. Although the vocabulary and thought are well developed in the quote, they are not well supported in the text.]]> 2016-10-20 20:59:47 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132226803 Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell Week 3 (101-160) October 7, 2016 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132227080 2016-10-20 21:01:17 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132227080 Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell Week 5 (pg. 211-260) October 21, 2016 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132227530 2016-10-20 21:04:12 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132227530 AP Language and Composition Dialectic Journal 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132227761 Michael Gobran]]> 2016-10-20 21:05:58 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132227761 "In this domain, the prize for efficacy goes to the Cantonese dialect of Chinese, whose brevity grants residents of Hong Kong a rocketing memory span of about 10 digits." (228) 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132228831
  • Efficacy (noun): capacity for producing a desired result or effect; effectiveness
  • Because the drug has not yet undergone human trials, volunteers are being recruited to test its efficacy.
    • ]]>     2016-10-20 21:13:57 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132228831     "Why is the fact that each of us comes from a culture with its own distinctive mix of strengths and weaknesses, tendencies and predispositions, so difficult to acknowledge? Who we are cannot be separated from where we’re from–and when we ignore that fact, planes crash." (221) 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132230298 Gladwell effectively presents his argument that culture and ethnic background are key factors in plane crashes. Because he asked questions, the messages and tone are less accusatory and more hypothetical. I agree with his analysis that where we're from makes us into who we are, and I think his word choice and syntax are effective stating his idea clearly and effectively. The concluding line of this section ties his abstract analysis to more concrete ideas, and helps conclude the section in a strong but not overly forceful manner.]]> 2016-10-20 21:24:27 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132230298 "Success is a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard for twenty-two minutes to make sense of something that most people would give up on after thirty seconds." (246) 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132230561 In this chapter, Malcolm Gladwell gives a plausible cultural explanation of why Asians are good at math. He compares the work ethic of rice-growing cultures and wheat-growing cultures and connects the persistence and perseverance of Asians from rice paddies to math. I thought this section was very well written, and when Gladwell said "success is a function of..." it showed his clever word choice by his implementation of a mathematical term to describe a different abstract idea.]]> 2016-10-20 21:26:33 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/132230561 Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell Week 6 (261-end) October 28, 2016 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/133184348 2016-10-25 22:25:06 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/133184348 "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) 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/133184493
  • Desultory (adjective):  marked by lack of definite plan, regularity, or purpose
  • The students were confused and bored by the teacher’s desultory lecture which seemed to have no real focus.
    • ]]>     2016-10-25 22:26:25 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/133184493     "To build a better world we need to replace the patch work 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) 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/133184497 In this quote, Gladwell makes an interesting statement that connects all of his examples to make an idealistic declaration. His idea of a better world is one where success is not only for the lucky outliers who have arbitrary advantages, but a world with equal opportunity for all. I agree that inequality is a problem in our world that needs to be addressed, but I disagree that it is possible to replace the luck needed for success with a system that overrides chance. ]]> 2016-10-25 22:26:28 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/133184497 "Their success is not exceptional or mysterious. It is grounded in a web of advantages and inheritances, some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky—but all critical to making them who they are. The outlier, in the the end, is not an outlier at all." (285) 18gobranm https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/133184501 Gladwell is wrapping up the book with a tonally different statement that the most successful people are not outliers, but people who get lucky. I dislike this statement because it seems to suggest that those who get lucky breaks and capitalize on them are undeserving, even though Gladwell had just finished describing the luck and arbitrary advantages that made him into who he is. The majority of the book was stylistically and conceptually amazing, but this ending does live up to Gladwell's standards, becoming too personal for the logical arguments Gladwell presents.]]> 2016-10-25 22:26:32 UTC https://padlet.com/18gobranm/1rhhnfi0yjsj/wish/133184501