Malcolm Gladwell’s main purpose in writing “The Trouble with Geniuses Part 1 and 2” of his book Outliers is to present the idea that success is determined by more than just natural talent and to argue against the effectiveness of IQ tests in determining Success. Gladwell’s use of generalizations and lack of representative examples make his arguments weak. Furthermore, his use of tone is casual, his ideas are entertaining, insightful, and inquisitive and he engages the reader by using rhetorical questions. Gladwell’s full description of academic terms, language, and tone, makes his intended audience, the general public.
In the book Outliers, Mr. Gladwell tactfully titles his chapters “The Trouble with Geniuses Part 1 & Part 2” and once again sets the tone with the use of analogy, stories, and facts. Part 1 begins with Christopher Langan, a genius as measured by the IQ test. Mr. Langan’s IQ score, Gladwell states, was higher than Einstein’s. In these chapters, Mr. Gladwell questions the idea that holding a high IQ would also mean success. Instead of Langan becoming a success, Gladwell states, Langan himself puts the blame on …show more content…
Gladwell would attempt to describe it in the simplest of terms, but then we ask ourselves; why is he presenting this complex theory to us, and not his academic peers? And if he presented it, what were their responses? Gladwell’s use of examples to backup his theories, dare I say, are not representative of our general society. Why are we talking about savants and not people with normal IQ’s? It is also possible that most of us, are so closed-off so as to perceive any type of new philosophical discovery, but this would not be logical. My instincts oppose Mr. Gladwell’s proposition; he is subtly presenting himself as the discoverer of new found information. Without having the backing of any professional institution, in regards to his theory, he is claiming to be the sole
In the book Outliers, Mr. Gladwell tactfully titles his chapters “The Trouble with Geniuses Part 1 & Part 2” and once again sets the tone with the use of analogy, stories, and facts. Part 1 begins with Christopher Langan, a genius as measured by the IQ test. Mr. Langan’s IQ score, Gladwell states, was higher than Einstein’s. In these chapters, Mr. Gladwell questions the idea that holding a high IQ would also mean success. Instead of Langan becoming a success, Gladwell states, Langan himself puts the blame on …show more content…
Gladwell would attempt to describe it in the simplest of terms, but then we ask ourselves; why is he presenting this complex theory to us, and not his academic peers? And if he presented it, what were their responses? Gladwell’s use of examples to backup his theories, dare I say, are not representative of our general society. Why are we talking about savants and not people with normal IQ’s? It is also possible that most of us, are so closed-off so as to perceive any type of new philosophical discovery, but this would not be logical. My instincts oppose Mr. Gladwell’s proposition; he is subtly presenting himself as the discoverer of new found information. Without having the backing of any professional institution, in regards to his theory, he is claiming to be the sole