It’s all about opportunity, not genius according to Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell is a very good writer.  Outliers is the third book of his that I’ve read and he can find all sorts of interesting data to support the fundamental theses in each of his books.  His theories in The Tipping Point have become a common part of our discourse over the years.  His basis point in Outliers is that success is never a foregone conclusion.  Yes, you need to be smart and hard working, but you also have to have the opportunities in life to PRACTICE the skill or trade you will become great in.  If his ideas are correct (and he makes a good case), it has big implications for education, public policy, parenting and all sorts of areas.  His stories of successful hockey players, Bill Gates and the Beatles are all fascinating examples of the importance of opportunity and practice.

Now, I imagine arguments could be made to refute some of Gladwell’s points.  Some of the chapters, while interesting, strike me as more of a stretch.  His points about Jewish lawyers, takeover law, and the skilled labor of textile workers are thin.  Gladwell suggests that since many Jewish immigrants had skill in textiles and started textile operations, their children would later go on to become doctors and lawyers because the value of hard work and creativity was passed to them because textiles required more creativity than other manual labor.  He may be absolutely right, but I suspect there are many other factors at play in these instances.  His arguments about Asian rice workers have similar problems.

Overall, Outliers was another fascinating read from Gladwell that reinforced my thinking about how damaging tracking can be in education.  It also made me wish we had the will and money to send our kids to school more days of the year.  This is can’t miss nonfiction that most anyone will enjoy, even if they disagree with it.