In the book David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, by Malcolm Gladwell, Gladwell raises a contrary voice on the misconceptions of underdogs and outsiders. According to Gladwell, “We think of things as helpful that actually aren’t and think of other things as unhelpful that in reality leave us stronger and wiser.” (25). The Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines an advantage as “superiority of position or condition” and a disadvantage as “an unfavorable, inferior, or prejudicial condition”. Gladwell uses the story of David and Goliath, from the bible, to show the misconceptions we have about underdogs and outsiders. Gladwell argues that some advantages without any clear or obvious disadvantages can create risks
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Another example is wealth, many people assume that having a lot of money is beneficial. Wealth may be beneficial in some aspects of life but at times it can actually be worse. Growing up with financial difficulty can teach many lessons and values in life that is difficult to learn without these hardships. Some disadvantages can be advantages, Gladwell proves this by reevaluating the situation where it seems like it is a disadvantage and looking it at in a different perspective so that it is an advantage. For example, some people look down at mediocre universities (compared to a prestige university) because they don’t have the reputation of being prestigious. However, a student can maximize their education at the mediocre university because they tend to not compare themselves to other students and excel in the same classes as they would not at a prestigious school. Gladwell’s use of these examples shows how underdogs and outsiders have a bigger chance to win than we …show more content…
Similar to Malcolm Gladwell, I believe that unconventional skills or abilities bring the element of surprise and are an advantage. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs was an entrepreneur, inventor, and industrial designer, who revolutionized technology for consumers. In this article, “What Made Steve Jobs Unique and Why His Personal Life Is Irrelevant” by Geoffrey James, James talks about how Steve Jobs does everything differently. “Steve Jobs throughout his career took the opposite approach: he consistently sacrificed backward compatibility and functionality in favor of simplicity of design.” During the time when Jobs was innovating and suggesting simplicity, the high technology companies were outraged and discouraged Jobs for the simplicity of technology. Many people in the technology-world view complexity as the best way possible for technology, so once Jobs came out with simpler technology it had changed the game for consumers. However, in the technology-world, simplicity continued to be seen as bad. Once Microsoft continued in the line of the complexity of their products, the technology world started to favor Microsoft and disapproved of Apple. Jobs went against the technology world, ignored their complaints and discouragements which led him to be a very influential person. Some people still believe that complexity is better and is for everyone, but not
Another example is wealth, many people assume that having a lot of money is beneficial. Wealth may be beneficial in some aspects of life but at times it can actually be worse. Growing up with financial difficulty can teach many lessons and values in life that is difficult to learn without these hardships. Some disadvantages can be advantages, Gladwell proves this by reevaluating the situation where it seems like it is a disadvantage and looking it at in a different perspective so that it is an advantage. For example, some people look down at mediocre universities (compared to a prestige university) because they don’t have the reputation of being prestigious. However, a student can maximize their education at the mediocre university because they tend to not compare themselves to other students and excel in the same classes as they would not at a prestigious school. Gladwell’s use of these examples shows how underdogs and outsiders have a bigger chance to win than we …show more content…
Similar to Malcolm Gladwell, I believe that unconventional skills or abilities bring the element of surprise and are an advantage. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs was an entrepreneur, inventor, and industrial designer, who revolutionized technology for consumers. In this article, “What Made Steve Jobs Unique and Why His Personal Life Is Irrelevant” by Geoffrey James, James talks about how Steve Jobs does everything differently. “Steve Jobs throughout his career took the opposite approach: he consistently sacrificed backward compatibility and functionality in favor of simplicity of design.” During the time when Jobs was innovating and suggesting simplicity, the high technology companies were outraged and discouraged Jobs for the simplicity of technology. Many people in the technology-world view complexity as the best way possible for technology, so once Jobs came out with simpler technology it had changed the game for consumers. However, in the technology-world, simplicity continued to be seen as bad. Once Microsoft continued in the line of the complexity of their products, the technology world started to favor Microsoft and disapproved of Apple. Jobs went against the technology world, ignored their complaints and discouragements which led him to be a very influential person. Some people still believe that complexity is better and is for everyone, but not