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Criticisms against outliers gladwell
Outliers by malcolm gladwell essay
In the book "Outliers", Malcolm Gladwell talks about
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Malcom Gladwell’s Outliers argues that one, with enough hard work and assertion, can reshape the world to their desires. While this assertion may appear true for some demographics, there are various qualities that predispose one to success and opportunity. For many, success is a matter of luck, simply being born in the right generation or having a stronger cultural legacy, as highlighted in Gladwell’s book. One cannot reshape the world with hard work and assertion alone, they must also be predisposed to success through their childhood and their ancestry.
Furthermore, the ability to reshape the world is not something that can be achieved without certain circumstances that give people these opportunities. The time period when someone is born has the ability to alter the entire course of their life and may cause someone to become one of the richest men on Earth, such as Bill Gates. Bill Gates was born in 1955, exactly twenty years before the technological revolution, which left him young and in the perfect position to create Microsoft. Being born in the 1950’s according to Gladwell left you, “old enough to be a part of the coming revolution, but not so old that you missed it.” (Gladwell, 65) This belief holds true for other technology typhoons: Paul Allen, born
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1953; Steve Ballmer, born 1956; Steve Jobs, born 1955; Eric Schmidt, born 1955. It is obvious that these men worked hard for the success they received, but hard work was not the only factor that put them in such an advantageous position. One’s economic class also plays a crucial role in how successful they are. One’s economic standing dictates a lot of the opportunities they receive and even importantly, how they react to those opportunities. A study done by Annette Lareau found that there are only really two parenting philosophies. These differing philosophies are harshly split along class lines. The parents of the upper class children found themselves dedicated to filling and managing their children’s schedules, for example: “One of the well-off children… played on a baseball team, two soccer teams, a swim team, and a basketball team in the summer, as well as playing in a orchestra and taking piano lessons.” (Gladwell, 103) One the other end of the spectrum, children of poorer children completely lacked this kind of enrichment, instead they had a more independent childhood where they had to develop and find their own interests. While neither form of parenting is worse than the other, the parenting of the upper class leaves more opportunities for their children. The parenting of the upper class teaches their children entitlement, with negative connotations aside, is a crucial part of success. These children learned how to better alter their settings and were better communicators, which lead the world to be customized to their needs. Many upper class children did work hard for the success some of them received, but for most of them this success was obtainable because of the enrichment and lessons they learned as children, and without that factor they would have been statistically less likely to succeed. One can alter the word to their desire, but these alterations are not obtained through merely hard work, they are determined primarily through pre-determined factors. Moreover, one’s ancestry is another factor that plays a cognitive role in one’s ability to reshape the world to their desires. Ethnicity and culture are the building blocks to a person, they are forever present throughout one’s life. Culture and the lessons one learns from their parents can be the deciding factor in their success, only if one utilizes those lessons. This effect is extremely visible in the children of Eastern European immigrants, primarily those who immigrated in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These immigrants, with no other skills to utilize chose to work in the garment industry, becoming their own bosses and managing their business how they liked. This atmosphere created meaningful work, which is comprised of only three principles, “autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward.” (Gladwell, 149) These things are what most deem to be necessary in satisfying work. In 1982, Louise Farkas went to several nursing homes in New York city, hoping to construct a family tree of all the Eastern European immigrants she could find. What she found was astonishing, each family tree was identical, beginning with the parents being a tailor or garment maker, their children being garment maker, and the next generation being lawyers or doctors. Farkas discovered, “Jewish doctors and lawyers did not become professionals in spite of their humble origins. They became professionals because of their humble origins.” (Gladwell, 153) The lessons the third generation learned from their parents and grandparents were lessons that motivated them to find meaningful jobs that they wanted to work hard at. The children of Eastern European immigrants were successful because of their lineage. This passing of culture and principles is also found in East Asian culture. The culture of those in Southern China once revolved around the rice paddie, which is a precise and tedious process. This precision, emphasis on experimentation, and patience has had a long lasting effect on those of Southern Chinese decent. In addition to a strong emphasis on hard work and determination, the language of the Southern Chinese simplifies math, translating twelve to ten-two, making grasping concepts quicker and easier. The combination of perseverance and a better understanding of numbers has lead; Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan to be at the top of the list. This phenomenon occurs due to the simple number system all of these countries share and, “countries whose students are willing to concentrate and sit long enough and focus… are the same countries whose students do the best job of solving math problems.” (Gladwell 247) Cultural legacies, as proven in East Asian counties can determine the success of a student. Success is not a combination of just hard work and assertion is it a culmination of all parts of a person, even the parts they cannot change. On the contrary, success would not be possible without any hard work.
Even with certain qualities that that may make success more likely, it would be impossible for anyone to become a millionaire or a master of their craft without any hard work, even Gladwell states, “if you work hard enough and assert yourself, and use your mind and imagination, you can shape the world to your desires.” (Gladwell, 151) This quote is not the entire truth and Gladwell himself recognized this by also stating, “Success is not a random act. It arises out of a predictable and powerful set of circumstances” (Gladwell, 155) Hard work and the power of the mind are merely the tip of the iceberg in a pattern of predisposed
success. Ultimately, unlike what Gladwell asserts, hard work and assertion are not enough to shape the world to one’s desires. Hard work, while needed, is only one part of the marathon to success. Individuals are born with the ability to better succeed than their peers, and those advantages carried individuals a long way.
“People don't rise from nothing....It is only by asking where they are from that we can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn't”(Gladwell 18).
Malcolm Gladwell, in the nonfiction book Outliers, claims that success stems from where you come from, and to find that you must look beyond the individual. Malcolm Gladwell develops and supports his claim by defining an outlier, then providing an example of how Stewart Wolf looked beyond the individual, and finally by giving the purpose of the book Outliers as a whole. Gladwell’s purpose is to explain the extenuating circumstances that allowed one group of people to become outliers in order to inform readers on how to be successful. The author writes in a serious and factual tone for the average person in society of both genders and all ethnicities who wants to become successful in life.
In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell argues that there is no such thing as a self-made man, and that success is only the result of a person’s circumstances. However, throughout the novel Gladwell points out that your circumstances and opportunities only help you become successful if you are willing to take advantage of them and work hard. From a twelve year old living in the Bronx, to those who were born at just the right time to become millionaires, one thing is the same throughout; these people because successful because they seized the opportunities they were given. The advantages and opportunities that came from their circumstances would not be important if they had not grasped them. Every successful man is self made, because he has seized the
For example, Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, earned a scholarship to Harvard University, and took his time and spent it all on the school's computer and he knew he had potential. So he dropped out of college his sophomore year, and started a company: Microsoft. This man is what is known a as a pure risk taker. Gladwell states, “Bill gates got to do-real-time programming as an eighth grader” (12). He then evolved his company and he launched it on April 4th, 1975. He knows how to sell his products to needing customers. He interprets how to communicate with customers to attract them to his product that he wants to sell. He excelled at monopolizing his company. In all, he went way beyond just ten years. He knew that in all these events that led to his goal, he was exceedingly lucky. This does not mean he wasn't a brilliant man or that he just relied on luck. He just had excellent communication skills and knows how to sell and induce customers to buy his product, and this led him to achieve a great
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. Although the author, Malcolm Gladwell did not major in sociology or psychology in college, his credibility for Outliers comes from his background in journalism.
Malcolm Gladwell is a canadian-english journalist, speaker, and bestselling author. In his bestselling book “Outliers”, Malcolm Gladwell discusses success and what patterns correlate with it. He states that how much time you put into a certain activity, specifically 10,000 hours, can put you in a elite level of proficiency. This in turn can give someone the tools to allow them the ability to be successful. Using historical citations, patterns, and real life examples, Gladwell forms his 10,000 hour rule. Due to his knowledgeable yet calm tone Gladwell seems to show credibility. His intended audience could be people who enjoy statistics or people who want to be successful and find possible ways to do so. Gladwell uses a logical appeal to show the patterns he has found through his studies of success. He supports his claim with overwhelming statistics which back it. He also uses similes to help better understand how he can relate the patterns he has found for the elite in a certain activity to other things. Foil is probably Gladwell's best means of convincing the reader to his thesis of the 10,000 hour rule. He uses Foil to compare success and we define to legends such as Bill Gates The Beatles and Bill Joy. Overall Gladwell uses Logos, similes, and foils to support his claim of the 10,000 hour rule.
There are many different definitions of success, and many depend on the person defining it. Success can be achieving your goal of running a mile or not failing a math test. It can be independence or not embarrassing yourself in public. To achieve these versions of success, you need to practice and put in effort. After all, Gladwell says if you work hard enough you can do anything and “Achievement is talent plus preparation.” (Gladwell 221). The above definitions of success are similar to my own. I define success as reaching my goals, not being in debt (money wise), and having independence. I also agree with Gladwell that wealth, power, and fame are indicators of success, however, I do not gauge my own success on power or fame. My definition of success has not changed because of the Outliers, but it has changed over time. As I age, my view of the world changes and so does my definition of success.
Everyone has their own vision of success. For some,it is being rich and famous and for others it is to have a great impact on the world. In the first chapter of outliers Gladwell claims that success is something you need to work for in some ways, he fails to come up with a solution for people that became successful without working for it.
Once in a while, it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to. Gladwell believes that cultural legacies are powerful forces. Cultural legacies are the customs of a family or a group of people, that is inherited through the generations. According to Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, Cultural legacies is something that’s been passed down for generations to generations. It depends on what type of legacies was passed that will affect a person. If a good legacy was passed down, someone can keep that legacy going by trying hard at keeping the legacies going. If a bad legacy was passed down; I believe that cultural legacies can be altered or changed, by good working habits, determination, and a positive mindset to succeed. Culture can affect either positively or negatively, but we have the power to turn our cultural
Malcolm Gladwell makes many debatable claims in his book “The Outliers”. One of these controversial topics is brought up in chapter three when he talks about a person’s IQ and how that relates to one’s success. Gladwell says, “The relationship between success and IQ works only up to a point. Once someone has reached an IQ of somewhere around 120, having additional IQ points doesn’t seem to translate into any measurable real-world advantage.”After reading “Outliers” I believe that this is the greatest controversial topic. I agree with Malcolm Gladwell because there are a high amount of people who are not incredibly smart that are very successful, success can be viewed differently by different people, and from my own experiences on the U-High
Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers is an extremely informative read about success and the different aspects that attribute to it. Gladwell is able to use many studies and sources that back up his theories of how success is achieved. Although he is biased towards his theories, the only real argument that can be made in opposition to his theories would be a debate over exceptions to the 10,000 Hour Rule. Outliers ultimately has a positive effect on the audience by making them more aware of their own chances at success and how if they may be lacking in one area (education, opportunity, creativity) all hope is not lost. Gladwell’s piece is essentially timeless and will be able to be applied to future generations because he used examples from a few different eras that still make sense to today.
Some people may be born into a family with wealth, and that is acceptable. Some people on the other hand, are not born into a family with wealth, and that is acceptable too. The work that families have done to get to the level they are in, are just a cushion. People should try to build their own reputation or success. Even if people work toward their goals of success, it could take years to reach, it isn’t something that happens over night usually. The way they act or present themselves in certain circumstances will determine if they succeed or fail. As much as people want to control every step toward that, there are things that are out of everyone's control. Every action they do, every decision they make, they can not control everything. There are certain things that can put a halt toward success, things many do not see coming till it happens. Oedipus had no idea that he was the one causing the sickness that was spreading through his kingdom. He was doing well as a king, but certain things can change that. His curse put on him when he was younger, was out of his control. The priest reminds Oedipus of his success depict the sickness surrounding them, “You saved us from Sphinx…”(40). Success may be the one thing you can control, but at the same time have no idea what could come
Gladwell demonstrates that hard work does not get people to high places but a series of opportunities and other factors will. What people have grown up to think about hard work is not true and it is demonstrated through these various examples. People will not be able to succeed, practice, and master their skills without opportunities, timing, devotion, and moral support. There is no such thing as “rags to riches” because those people would not be rich unless they had opportunities in their life. Remember that with out these key factors, people will never be able to succeed.
“Outliers: The Story of Success” is one of the non-fiction books written by Malcolm Gladwell. In the book, the author examines the factors that contribute to the high levels of success. The author adds that success is combined with a number of key factors such as hard work, opportunity and other factors like when and where the person was born. The books gives an insight into various un-answered questions such as why the majority of Canadian ice hockey players are born in the first few months of the calendar year or how The Beatles became one of the most successful musical band in the world. According to Gladwell, success is not only about innate talent but depends on various external factors and situations.
In Chapter 8 and 9 of Outliers: The Story of Success, Gladwell exams some of the ways that Asian and American students learn math, arguing that some of the principles in the US education system should be reconsidered. I generally agree with Gladwell’s point of view. I believe in two ways, students ' principal spirit and the length of students’ studying, the US education system leaves much to be desired, though an overhaul is in progress.