Book Review — Outliers, By Malcolm Gladwell
Outliers- the book from where the “10,000 Hour Rule” came from! The book seeks to explore and discover what makes people smart, rich or famous. The author Malcolm Gladwell argues that we spend too much time on what they are like and not enough time on where they are from and what kind of opportunities they got, mostly by luck. He believes that it is “their culture, their family, their generation and the experiences of their upbringings” which determines their success to a large extent. The way he explains complex theories using everyday examples is a treat in itself.
In Outliers, he argues that success is sometimes shaped by the smallest of factors. And one of the factors taken early in the book is as simple as a person’s birthday. The most successful Canadian hockey players are born in January, February and March, just because the cut-off date for age-class hockey in Canada is January 1. Thus, those born after that date have a significant disadvantage in terms of experience as they are held back a year, and ultimately out of competitive scenario. It is not like they were bad at it, it is simply the fact that they started late, due to bad luck. The ones who started early kept playing in different age group championships and the amount of time they spent polishing their skill made them successful. But what made them start early? The smallest of factors-their birthdate.
He goes on to explain that our upbringing also plays a larger role in success. Gladwell compares the lives of two geniuses: physicist Robert Oppenheimer and Christopher Langan. Both were tested and found to have high IQs. But Gladwell argues that Oppenheimer had a huge advantage being raised in a wealthy and educated family, while Langan was born into a broken family. Oppenheimer went to Harvard and Cambridge and helped develop the nuclear bomb. Langan had poor grades in school, never finished college and makes money competing on TV game shows. What went on to become the most deciding factor for success? Luck of birth!
Then Malcom points out that there is the factor of opportunity in shaping success. Why was Bill Gates successful? Well, he was smart of course, but he also grew up when the computers were coming of age, offering him opportunities to spend a hell lot of time and create new software. He came from a wealthy family who could afford to provide what was most necessary for Bill at the time — access to hours of programming at a very young age. What was the deciding factor? Being born at the right place and at the right time. Yes, the time factor again — the year 1955 to be precise. Having trouble digesting the year factor? Steve Jobs was born on 24 February 1955. The year gave these two legends of technology the time required to learn and master the skills before their respective domains boomed. Bill got enough programming practice (if calculated it comes around to 10,000 hours when he turned 20) before personal computers became a revolution.
Through above and various other examples, Malcom explains the key concepts are the 10–000 Hour Rule (the necessary hours of practice necessary to become an expert) and the Matthew Effect (the idea that advantages accumulate).
Lesson 1: After you cross a certain skill threshold, your abilities won’t help you!
This he explains with a very relatable example. The average height of an NBA basketball player has been 6′ 7″. Even if you grow to be 7′ tall, those additional inches won’t give you a huge advantage over other players. How some law schools lower their admission requirements for racial minorities, and even though these students tend to perform worse than their non-minority peers both before and in school, this gap completely disappears once they graduate. They make the same valuable contributions, get paid just as much and receive as many honors as their peers. Why? Because once you’ve reached a certain level of legal expertise, other factors start to take over and influence your career, like social skills, how good your network is, and even catching a lucky break.
Lesson 2: Some people are good at something because where they come from matters!
Gladwell points out that there’s a reason for the stereotype that “Asians are good at math.” First, Asian languages are set up so that children learn to add numbers simultaneously with learning to count. Second, hundreds of years of building a traditional culture around farming rice (which requires a lot of patience and hard work) has instilled a great sense of discipline into Asian culture. So yes, where you’re born matters in what you do.
Lesson 3: The 10,000 Hour Rule — Achievement is talent plus preparation!
The closer psychologists look at the careers of the gifted, the smaller the role innate talent seems to play and the bigger the role preparations seems to play. Practice isn’t the thing you do once you are good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.
Everything in Outliers says that success follows a predictable course. It is not the brightest who succeed. If it were, Langan would be up there with Einstein given Chris had more IQ. Nor is success simply the sum of decisions and efforts we make on our behalf. It is, rather a gift. Outliers are those who have been given opportunities, and who had the strength and presence of mind to seize them.
Outliers is a clever, entertaining and a must read book that stimulates reader’s minds and broadens their perspectives. It is impressive and in its own way, genius.
“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times”
-Bruce Lee
