Malcom Gladwell : The Truth behind the 10,000 Hour Rule

1132 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis gladwells 10000 hour rule

The road to greatness is a long path filled with struggle and time. Based on research by the best-selling author Malcom Gladwell inside his book Outliers popularized the idea of 10,000 hours of guided practice “the magic number of greatness”(Gladwell, 47). With enough practice he said anyone could achieve any work that of a professional. While some say the 10,000 hour rule is the key to success I believe that success is based on genetics, talent, and time period. It is whether one was born with the talent, achieved it later within life or was born during the wrong time period is what makes a master out of someone. Where the 10,000 hour rule is not a truth. What is the 10,000 hour rule? Malcom Gladwell uses this rule to help explain that success in any field one has to commit to practicing one specific task for a total of 10,000 hours. Gladwell uses such examples as Bill Gates and The Beatles and explains that 20 hours a week for ten years will bring a person to this exalted number. The argument is that practice makes perfect. But one must have dedicated everything to improve that desired skill for it to work. He uses the rule as a basis to explain “innate ability has less to do with success than the combination of early environment exposure and years of practice” (Graydon, 1). Were at the end of his observation it would be a fine, even optimistic, argument. Malcom’s biased measure of 'success' is more or less safely constrained to practiced skills of the musical or hand-eye co-ordination like working with computers in which he explains with Gates and Jobs. He also admits genetics, exposure, practice, and random luck may all play a confounding role and does not emphasize the rule how easily it translates to a business professiona... ... middle of paper ... ...and the whole story that Malcom Gladwell left out. Szalavitz, Maia. "10,000 Hours May Not Make a Master After All | TIME.com." Time. Time, 20 May 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2014 Maia Szalavitz in the article, 10,000 hours may not make a master after all, argues that 10,000 hours may not be sufficient (05-20-13). Szalavitz supports her argument by demonstrating other researcher’s outcomes. The author’s purpose is to inform others in order to show that there isn’t a thing as “the magic number of greatness”. The author writes in formal tone for many researchers out there. This author is not ordinary author, he is himself is a science/research writer. He has done much research on the topic, what inspired him was the book ‘Outliers’. This is a very credible source because he has many examples, research form other scientists and the whole story that Malcom Gladwell left out.

Show More
Related

  • It’s All About the Drive in Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

    663 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gladwell, Malcolm. “The 10,000-Hour Rule.” Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little, Brown, 2008. 35-55. Print.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis of 10,000 Rule

    663 Words  | 2 Pages

    Malcolm Gladwell describes a sure fire way to become an expert in any subject in chapter two of Outliers. He explains that in order to be successful you must work for ten thousand hours. Gladwell is a non-fiction writer who collects research data and interprets it as guidelines to being successful. In the book Outliers he examines dozens of successful people and analyzes their rise to fame and success. His purpose is to identify misconceptions about how to be successful and to praise outliers for beating the odds. His work teaches us how outliers rise against the odds and how to identify their extraordinary luck, opportunity and hard work. His writing enlightens the average reader on how a successful person rose to the occasion and the different factors in their lives that helped them do so. The intended audience is anyone interested in discovering just how much work it has taken in the past to be the best of the best and how to apply oneself. In chapter two of Outliers Gladwell leads us through the lives of computer programmer Bill Joy, world-class violinists, musical genius Amadeus Mozart, chess grandmasters of the twenty first century, internationally popular UK pop band “The Beatles,” and computer genius and former richest man in the world, Bill Gates. Gladwell’s attempt to persuade readers of the ten thousand hour rule is successful because of his use of exemplum, logos and rhetorical question.

    Read More

  • Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Path to Success

    937 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine a book that offers the reader a key; a key that enables them to ride down the highway to success and see all of the stops along the way that are instrumental in achieving success. Malcolm Gladwell does precisely this in his novel Outliers, which examines some of history’s most successful people and then attempts to explain why they specifically became successful beyond their wildest dreams. Gladwell is a reporter for The New Yorker and an accomplished author in the areas of psychology, sociology, and social psychology. In Outliers, he presents his reasoning as to why some people become successful and some do not. One of his major points in this regard is the ten thousand hour rule, meaning that to master a topic and become extremely successful in that area, one must accumulate at least ten thousand hours of practice in that area. He closely examines the early lives and careers of some of history’s greatest success stories to make a fine argument for his case. However, his strong arguments in support of his theories on success are not as strong when they come to countering the “typical view”, as Gladwell sees it. Outliers is different than most persuasive novels in that by proving his point, Gladwell does not necessarily disprove other people’s view on success. He effortlessly utilizes logos, along with numerous examples and parallelisms to support his theories. However, his lack of ethos and strong counter-argument allows for the audience to understand his ten thousand hour rule without necessarily supporting it wholeheartedly. After proposing something unthinkable to the average mind, Gladwell goes on to explain his ten thousand hour rule theory using two, very descriptive, very in-depth anecdotes. He shows how multi-bil...

    Read More

  • Malcolm Gladwell Analysis

    1899 Words  | 4 Pages

    Malcom Gladwell, is an author of numerous New York Times Best Sellers, who uses several techniques in his writing to clarify and support his argument. Gladwell’s techniques are using stories to appeal to the reader’s emotions. Using scientific facts and research to logically strengthen his argument. Also, writing about controversial issues to establish credibility with the readers. These techniques are found in “Offensive Play”, “Small Change”, and “Harlan, Kentucky”, works by Gladwell.

    Read More

  • France and Russia: Poverty and Revolution

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    Note: I had not heard of this author, but the publisher is very well know, which established credibility. I received a copy of this source through the Xavier Library

    Read More

  • The Outliers By Malcolm Gladwell: The Definition Of Success

    917 Words  | 2 Pages

    What is the definition of true success? Everyone has his or her own definition of success. For me success is to have earned the appreciation of honest critics and tolerate the betrayal of deceptive friends and most importantly being self-reliant. Some great writers have their own special wise thoughts on prosperity, for example, in Self- Reliance and Other Essays “Self-Reliance”, by Waldo Ralph Emerson suggest we all need to be individuals and put ourselves before anyone else. However, in Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, he gives a different meaning of prosperity. He claims success is never the result of talent alone. Both of the writers Emerson and Gladwell have similar and different thoughts on what makes a content opulence and self-reliant

    Read More

  • The Story of an Hour: Sixty Minutes of Freedom

    657 Words  | 2 Pages

    “To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.”(Lao Tzu). In Kate Chopin’s, “The Story of an Hour”, it tells of a heart trouble married woman, Louise Mallard, who learns that the man she loved and married, Brently has died. Mrs. Mallard’s behavior and emotions have shocked her entire family as she finds it a joyful and powerful event that may change her life for the hour that she has remaining to live. Mrs. Mallard considers his death as a freedom that she has yet longed for over so many years. As many readers begin to express their judgment towards Mrs. Mallard, the aspects of personal relationship may seem to convince those that maybe she was a bit selfish with her response. In the agony of a bitter marriage, “The Story of an Hour” portrays the reality of being in love, being married and finally having female independence.

    Read More

  • Malcolm Gladwell´s Outliers Rhetorical Analysis

    852 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...heir 10,000 hours of practice to become successful in their passion, therefore making his writing effective. Gladwell provides information to his audience that success is achieved by many factors and some of these factors they can control, such as the amount of hours they practice. His writing style provides hope for the future in young generations who may not know how to go about achieving success in their desired area. Gladwell's writing is truly timeless in a sense that in two hundred years from now, younger generations will be able to read his writing about the 10,000 hour rule and it will still have the same effect in giving them hope of becoming future outliers.

    Read More

  • 10,000 Hour Tenacity in Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gladwell effectively uses rhetorical devices, tone, and factual evidence to support his claim of the 10,000 hour rule. Using rhetorical devices such as parallelism, facts and statistics (logos), and style of writing, Gladwell reinforces his idea of practice. Malcolm Gladwell uses his evidence to make a reader truly think about those who are successful as being hard workers, not just “lucky”. He illustrates how many well-known experts became legends in their field. This not only shows how software moguls and tycoons became wealthy or successful, but how the reader can as well: by following the old piece of advice “practice makes perfect”.

    Read More

  • The 10,000 Rule in Outliers by Marcus Gladwell

    534 Words  | 2 Pages

    Even when one has a rough childhood and upbringing, they are able to take all of these hard times and turn them into motivation to work harder to improve not only their lives, but their family and friends lives. Through this hard work and dedication comes the 10,000 hour rule. Marcus Gladwell is a very well-known author, writer, and speaker from The New York Yorker; his first four books were on the New York Times best seller list and in 2005, Time magazine named Gladwell one of its 100 most influential people. Because of Gladwell’s outstanding achievements and background, it furthers his readers to believe that he is a very credible and knowledgeable resource. Gladwell’s purpose in writing Outliers is to teach and inform the audience about what an outlier really stands for and how some people become an outlier from a young age. Gladwell’s main audience is people around the world that are interested in the statistical studies. Gladwell, through the use of several rhetorical devices and examples is effectively able to express what it takes to be successful through the 10,000 hour rule....

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of Blue-Collar Billiance By Mike Rose

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    His anecdotes presented in the article are appropriate in terms of his subject and claims. The author responds back to the naysayers by saying that people only look at the test scores earned in school, but not the actual talent. He says, “Our culture- in Cartesian fashion- separates the body from the mind, so that, for example we assume that the use of tool does not involve abstraction. We reinforce this notion by defining intelligence solely on grades in school and number on IQ tests. And we employ social biases pertaining to a person’s place on the occupational ladder” (279). The author says that instead of looking at people’s talent we judge them by their grades in school or their IQ score, and we also employ them based on these numbers. People learn more each time they perform a task. He talks about blue collared individuals developing multi-tasking and creativity skills as they perform the task they are asked to

    Read More

  • Outliers-The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell

    1888 Words  | 4 Pages

    Outliers-The Story of Success is a sociological, and psychological non-fiction book, which discusses success, and the driving reasons behind why some people are significantly more successful than others. Malcolm Gladwell explains this by dividing the book into two parts, opportunity and legacy. Opportunity discusses how select people are fortunate enough to be born between the months of January through March, and also includes the idea that those who are already successful will have more opportunities to improve and become even more successful. The 10,000-hour rule proves the idea that in order to become successful in a certain skill, one must have practiced that skill for at least 10,000 hours. In addition to the 10,000-hour rule, timing is also a major component that implies being in the right place at the right time, which brings the author to discuss Bill Gates who was born during the time where programming and computer technology was emerging, therefore sparking his interest in computers, later bringing him to create Microsoft. Another point Gladwell brings forth is the notion of one’s upbringing, race, and ethnicity can be a factor behind their success. And lastly, pursuing meaningful work will cause one to continue working with their skill and not give up. Legacy is a collection of examples that support the idea: values are passed down from generation to generation, which may cause a certain group of people to be more persistent in a skill, or occupation.

    Read More

  • The key to Resilience

    911 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...if every time you practice piano you improve a lot, wouldn't you be more likely to practice a lot” yes this is the type of trait that needs to be developed like reading, playing soccer , and walking we aren’t just born with it so class time for me would be for practicing my essay writing and getting better at it. Grit is the way that we more accurately read who is a top notch and who is just there but not really there with an open mind. “The most successful people in life are both talented and gritty in whatever they've chosen to do” having a mind set like these people mirroring their strategies will only set us up for success because they have the formula we just need to get it. We are the ones who control our future so we need to follow the great minds that have already done it to put us in a better position to improve and see new thing that will than help us.

    Read More

  • The Masterminds Behind THe Game of Chess

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    Source: "Practice Makes Perfect? Not so Much." MSUToday. Zach Hambrick, Andy Henion, 20 May 2013. Web. 04 May 2014. .

    Read More

  • Personal Statement For A Career In Information Systems Management

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    Perfection is not within the realms of possibility, but I always knew if I aim for perfection, I could at least achieve excellence. This is the mantra I have followed in every walk of life. I have always learnt to appreciate everything I have taken up, thoroughly and to the fullest. In this competitive pace of life, I have learnt a lot from my experiences and I am still striving to learn more. I constantly challenged myself in an effort to develop a rational mindset and approach to problem solving.

    Read More

More about Malcom Gladwell : The Truth behind the 10,000 Hour Rule

Open Document