I picked up this book at the airport and got hooked. Its really interesting to see the factors that made people exceptional in society. I find it more satisfying to think that amazing people got to where they were by persistence and also being born at the right time.
But is it valid? For example, the author states that some factors leading to asian math superiority come from a simpler system of number words, memory associated with language, and a work ethic derived from a rice growing tradition.
Its inspiring to think you can master something if you spend 10000 hours practcing it and that innate talent is marginal. But I feel there ARE people spending hours at stuff with little to show for it. Some of the people who struggle the most at, say, math have to spend disproportionately more time to understand concepts.
I call this book a ‘triviality’ as far as social science is concerned. Some interesting anecdotes, but it really doesn’t tell us much. Obviously being in the right place at the right time is a big advantage. The hockey example highlights this, but it isn’t disproving anything.
BTW: Hen’s teeth and mare’s nests represent non-existent things. You don’t need to be a super genius to figure that out. What does that say about the author?
Don’t know if that was worth a spoiler, but y’all are a tad touchy about these things.
Gladwell’s not writing a social science textbook, but a book for general interest readers.
I haven’t read this one yet, but loved several of his other books like What The Dog Saw, which is mostly his articles in the New Yorker. If I get interested enough in a subject that he writes about, I’ll track down the real work.
The book is, for want of a better word “cute.”. It frames some interesting questions, but sells them harder than they warrant. The real title of the book should be Nurture, i.e., large numbers of individuals are born with potential (Nature) but circumstance provide the opportunities and threats which determine if and to what extent that potential is realized. And this is new how? Gladwell presents Classic thinking in entertaining ways.
Hope this thread isn’t too old, but I’m just reading this now and had to agree heartily with this.
It’s an entertaining read, but I had heard most of the anecdotes before, and unfortunately am reading it on recommendation from a friend whose mind was blown by it, so am trying to figure out how to deliver my review…
For reference, 10,000 hours represents 5 years working 40 hours a week on your craft. And that’s 40 WORKING hours. It doesn’t include grabass. Most people have neither the time nor the inclination to spend that much time on anything that isn’t a full time job.