Success and Geniuses: Nature and Nurture

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Booker T. Washington once said, “I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed” (BrainyQuote). To achieve success one must accomplish an aim or purpose. Success cannot be achieved over night. In his book Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell talks about both Robert Oppenheimer and Chris Langan he writes “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). Although Robert Oppenheimer had better family support and more opportunities than Chris Langan did, they both were still successful in life.

Robert Oppenheimer had much family support growing up. He came from a very wealthy family. He was born and raised in New York City. Oppenheimer had both of his parents firmly standd behind him and encourage him in whatever he did. They truly believed in oppenheimer’s intelligence. Gladwell writes about an example that clearly shows the encouragement he writes, “Dreading the thought of having to talk to an audience of adults, Robert begged his father to explain that they had invited a twelve-year-old. Greatly amused, Julius encouraged his son to accept this honor…Robert nevertheless read his prepared remarks and was given a hearty round of applause” (109). This is j...

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... successful. Oppenheimer came from a very wealthy family and had much family support. Langan on the other hand came from the complete opposite a very poor family and had no family support at all. The many opportunities Oppenheimer had led to his success. Whereas Langan had barely any opportunities because no one wanted to give him a chance to prove himself. Throughout it all both men despite their background were both successful in life.

Works Cited

Gladwell, Malcolm. "The Trouble with Geniuses, Part II." Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little Brown and, 2008. 91-115. Print.

Langan, Christopher. "All About Christopher Langan: The Smartest Man in America." Interview. Web log post. Techtainment. Techtainment, 26 Jan. 2008. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.

Rosenberg, Jennifer. "J. Robert Oppenheimer." About.com 20th Century History. About, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.

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