The 10,000 Hour Rule: Why it’s Wrong

My girlfriend likes to shop a lot. That means that I go to the mall and watch people a lot. I tend to think and process and rethink ideas and concepts again and again. So during my trips to the mall I rethink the concepts that I read in books or listen to in podcasts. I started thinking about the 10,000 hour rule. This is the theory by Malcolm Gladwell introduced in Outliers that you will become an expert at anything so long as you put in your 10,000 hours. So I’m walking through the mall, pondering the idea. I thought, theoretically I’m an expert at breathing. That doesn’t work if I even walk too briskly.

Then it hit me. I saw businessmen dressed terribly. Ill fitting suits, mismatched patterns and colors. This leads me to believe that the 10,000 hour rule is total and utter bullshit. I am a particular person. I notice the details. Patterns, materials, colors, the length, the tightness. These men make a lot of money. The more money that gets thrown around leads to details being that much more important. These men have certainly worn suits and seen other men wear suits for well over 10,000 hours. They’re terrible. Their children could dress them better.

You could also be a professional for years and get your 10,000 hours in your field. You could specialize and do several small jobs and make your keep. If you do this, though, then you could specialize so much that something in your field goes under the radar. Or you could be an NBA basketball player. You could be the best free throw shooter in the league, have the most blocks, the most assists, and a terrible three-point percentage. You’re still a professional in your field; no one would question that. You just suck at shooting threes.

For these reasons, I consider the 10,000 hour rule to be bunk. Stay tuned for more late night mall ideas.