Blink

How much control does one have over their destiny? Two authors David Epstein and Malcolm Gladwell have two different positions on the question. The Sports Gene, written by David Epstein shows that innate ability plays a bigger role than practice. On the other hand, Outliers: The story of Success, written by Malcolm Gladwell shows his audience that preparation has a bigger role over innate talent. Overall, Gladwell provides stronger evidence than Epstein to support the claim about how much…

A majority of people believe success stems from our personality traits and cleverness, but we fail to notice that there are more factors than just that.. Many individuals put people into stereotypes for this reason because we often overlook the outcome of an individual's success, like how asians are really good at math. Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, presents us some of the many ways people became an outlier and how they were able to improve from satisfactory to successful. Gladwell shows us…

Growing up I was always taught that hard work, preservation, motivation and drive would excel and get me far in life. Outliers almost paints a different picture. Outliers states how luck might have to do with one 's success, such as succeeding and becoming a high ranking sports player. Outliers also mentions how Asians are better at math, because they practice more and if we all contributed at least 10,000 hours into a hobby we enjoy, we could be the best. All these possible reasons as to why,…

In his book, Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell seeks to uncover what makes the ‘outliers’ of society so successful. He believes there is a stronger pattern in their success stories than the prevailing thought today. Gladwell stresses the importance of the “world that surrounds the successful,” by focusing on the family someone is born into, the culture they are born into, and the time period they were born in. Malcolm Gladwell begins his novel with the chapter titled “The Mathew…

As the text progresses Gladwell’s diction remains cordial and incredibly conversational. The continued usage of informal language perfectly suits the older teens and adults that Gladwell is addressing. Gladwell essentially adopts the role of the teacher which is why relaxed language is the ideal choice for Outliers. While elegant prose would be incredibly euphonic, by using simplistic language Gladwell is able to ensure that his audience will be able to easily understand his definition of…

The book Outliers: The Story of Success expands the idea of successful people. Through each chapter, the author, Malcolm Gladwell, explains various success stories, but he counteracts the idea that people’s achievements are based on luck. Instead, he forces readers to look beyond the individual to understand how success works and outliers are made through a variety of themes. Under the heading “The Matthew Effect,” Gladwell introduces the first chapter with a scene about Gordie Howe, a talented…

The “10,000 Hour” phenomenon does not make an outlier as Gladwell proposes, it is a result, not the cause. Each of the “outliers” spent time, practiced their skill because they loved what they were doing. Gladwell quotes (Outliers, pg. 52) Bill Gates as saying “It was my obsession”. All of the “outliers” found their talent, loved it and spent as much time as they could learning and perfecting it. Gladwell uses Wolfgang Mozart as an example of the “10,000 Hour” phenomenon (Outliers, pg. 40)…

“We are so caught up in the myths of the best and brightest and the self made that we think outliers spring naturally from the earth” (Gladwell 268). People believe that outliers come from nowhere, as if they have risen up from the earth. However, people also believe that dedication and talent create outliers. The truth is that what one is born into is what defines an individual. One’s social background forms the type of person you are and is what can define an outlier, one who stands apart from…

There is a story that is usually told about extremely successful people, a story that focuses on intelligence and ambition”- Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell, the author of Outliers, views success as granted opportunities and advantages that not everybody is given by fate. Luck dictates how successful a person can be. Luck is achievement or failure supposedly brought by accident rather than through one’s actions. Most people are born without a great amount of luck which makes them work hard to reach…

In today’s society, everyone seems to have their own definition of success and how to achieve it. In Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, Gladwell claims that successful individuals are not only naturally talented, but that they practice a lot. According to Daniel Levitin, “The emerging picture from such studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world class-expert--- in anything.” (Gladwell 40). Although I agree with both…