Malcolm Gladwell

The maxim "Every man is the architect of his own fortune" is true and many people better themselves and improve upon their current situation by their own sweat and hard work. Many people are born into a situation that is less than perfect, want it to be better, and work to improve their status. Some well known people, Jay-Z and J.K. Rowling are some of these people. They did not let their current circumstances bog them down, and they worked and used their talents and abilities to better their…

Throughout the novel, there were several moments that provoked me to reflect and think about what Gladwell was saying. While reading, I found the section about why people of Asian heritage are typically better at math than those from western culture surprising. What I found most surprising about this section was how something as simple as language can affect the mathematical abilities of a whole race. Gladwell writes that, “They have a logical counting system. Eleven is ten-one. Twelve is…

In this essay the main topic is going to be the turning points in three different stories. A turning point is when something or something comes to a sudden change. For example, for my birthday my uncle gave me some money for whatever I wanted to buy and I was happy that what he gave me. One reason that someone's life can change is by receiving a gift. For example, in “An American Childhood” Annie Dillard gets a microscope for christmas and when she is playing around with it she finds the…

life. “It is not the brightest who succeed… Nor is success simply the sum of the decisions and efforts we make on our own behalf… Outliers are those who have been given opportunities-and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them” (Gladwell 267). After reading the text it is clear the intended audience for this argument are people in the younger generation who are rising to become the next successors. They will be able to think about this book when progressing into their…

In “Outliers,” Malcolm Gladwell attempts to prove to his audience that their idea behind how success is attained in the United States is considerably different than what many Americans would like to think. In America many people believe in the concept of a hard-working individual pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and earning their success through dedication and talent. Gladwell attempts to prove while individual efforts are a big role in success, theses outliers would have never been…

Well-known journalist and author, malcolm gladwell, in his introduction of outliers, describes the anomaly of a small city named roseto. Gladwell's purpose is to impress upon the readers the idea that outliers do not start out as outliers and to understand their success, one needs to look beyond their intelligence and ambition and their personality traits and examine their culture, their family, and their generation. He employs the rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos and logos. These combined…

Reflection - 3 "No man is so exquisitely honest or upright in living but that ten times in his life he might not lawfully be hanged.” (Montaigne and Florio, 2010) This is a quotation or a strong statement made by Michael De Montaigne. The quotation suggests that human nature has a mixture of virtues. The point at issue is human nature is more flexible than fixed. Luke, David, and Abraham are three participating students from China, Australia, and Brazil. The first question investigates the…

Trouble with Geniuses" Gladwell recounts highly intellectual people's stories of success or lack thereof. He explains in a clear and straight-forward manner how they got there. It is through his writing style that Gladwell gains the confidence of his readers and effectively presents his case. Gladwell's purpose in writing "The Trouble with Geniuses" is to convince his audience that a genius, a form of an outlier, is just as dependent on circumstance as anyone else. Gladwell suggests…

Much has been written on what it takes to win the game of life. A lifetime of experience says it's not as complicated as most people make it. Here are a few factors (less spoken about in success forums) that I consider are crucial to lead a successful life, take what you want: Reposition: Have you ever pondered what makes a few people more effective than others? Without a doubt, ability and experience are a part of the condition, yet there is a considerably more imperative segment – Reposition.…

Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in and day out. Not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like a marathon, not a sprint.” Gladwell shows examples of this personality trait in his book Outliers, especially in the case of a math student named Renee. Renee was videotaped by a professor at UC Berkeley who was studying how students solve questions (239). What stood out about…