Book Review: Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell

This was an extremely interesting book. It was recommended awhile ago when I was looking for different types of books to read, and finally, after months on the waiting list, it finally came in for me at the library.

Success is often assumed to be the result of ambition and hard work. In this book, however, Gladwell makes the case that it has more to do with opportunity and the people who came before you. He has some very compelling points and backs them up quite well. The areas he chooses to address are varied (from professional hockey to computer geniuses to rice paddies), yet all seem to be well researched. I disagreed with him as far as his take on education, but had little problem with the rest of what he said.

Except for one particular instance. He was talking about a genius who had missed out on college for various reasons, and ended up doing a variety of jobs such as being a bouncer or farming. In his spare time he read academic journals and was working on a project involving physics and whatnot, knowing he'll never be published because he doesn't have letters after his name. Gladwell states, “Here he was, a man with a one-in-a-million mind, and he had yet to have any impact on the world.”

I found that offensive. If he wanted to say, "on the science world" or "on the academic world," fine. But to say he's never had "any impact on the world," is terribly wrong. Has Gladwell never seen "It's a Wonderful Life"? Everyone has an impact on the world. And there's a good chance it's for good. Maybe he bounced a guy who was giving a girl a hard time at a bar, who otherwise would have stayed until she left and then attacked her. Maybe he called a cab for a drunk who otherwise would've tried to drive home and killed someone on the way. We don't know. Saying that the man's never had an impact on the world comes across as judgemental.

Other than that, I liked the book and found it fascinating. I highly recommend it.