In Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, he explains what sets people apart from each other, and what makes a person an outlier. In many cases, these outliers are very successful people worth billions of dollars. Let’s think of Bill Gates. The way we would describe him would be intelligent, ambitious, and in general, adjectives that describe his personality, habits, or characteristics. In Outliers, Gladwell explains that the reason people are outliers is because of the environment they grow up in or uncontrollable factors, which causes an effect on how a person reacts to a certain situation. Things like birthdays and upbringing can have a huge effect on whether or not a person will become an outlier.
One area that highlights the effect of birth dates on becoming an outlier is the sports industry. In order to play for any team, there’s an eligibility cutoff for players. Let’s say the cutoff is January 1st. Gladwell explains, “a boy who turns 10 on January 2, then, could be playing alongside someone who doesn’t turn ten until the end of the year-and at that age, in preadolescence, a twelve month gap in age represents an enormous difference in physical maturity” (24). Something uncontrollable like a birthday could either help or hurt someone in becoming a successful player in any sport.
Upbringing and the way someone presents themselves are other important factors in shaping a person to become an outlier. I’m sure most of us have all been told before a presentation, tryout, or audition to “stand tall, don’t be nervous, make it look like you know what you’re doing, like you have a right to be there.” In the book, Gladwell talks about Alex Williams, a 10-year-old boy from a professional, wealthy family. William’s mother is taking him to the doctor and encourages him to think of questions to ask him. At the appointment, Williams asserts his presence by correcting the doctor, and he asks him questions concerning his checkup. Gladwell states, “this kind of interaction simply doesn’t happen with lower class children...they would be quiet and submissive with eyes turned away” (107). At a young age, Williams is encouraged by his mother to assert himself, even around people of authority. The upbringing of a person has a major effect on how someone presents themselves to the modern world, and if they are unable to assert themselves, it could hurt their chance of being chosen for a job, picked for a spot on the team, or in general, the chance of becoming an outlier.
When we think of outliers, we automatically assume it has to do with a person’s ability. Malcolm Gladwell explains in Outliers that it’s based off of more. It has to do with opportunity, ambition, and upbringing, along with chance, like when and where a person was born. Gladwell teaches us that success is a group effort, not just the effort of one person.
One area that highlights the effect of birth dates on becoming an outlier is the sports industry. In order to play for any team, there’s an eligibility cutoff for players. Let’s say the cutoff is January 1st. Gladwell explains, “a boy who turns 10 on January 2, then, could be playing alongside someone who doesn’t turn ten until the end of the year-and at that age, in preadolescence, a twelve month gap in age represents an enormous difference in physical maturity” (24). Something uncontrollable like a birthday could either help or hurt someone in becoming a successful player in any sport.
Upbringing and the way someone presents themselves are other important factors in shaping a person to become an outlier. I’m sure most of us have all been told before a presentation, tryout, or audition to “stand tall, don’t be nervous, make it look like you know what you’re doing, like you have a right to be there.” In the book, Gladwell talks about Alex Williams, a 10-year-old boy from a professional, wealthy family. William’s mother is taking him to the doctor and encourages him to think of questions to ask him. At the appointment, Williams asserts his presence by correcting the doctor, and he asks him questions concerning his checkup. Gladwell states, “this kind of interaction simply doesn’t happen with lower class children...they would be quiet and submissive with eyes turned away” (107). At a young age, Williams is encouraged by his mother to assert himself, even around people of authority. The upbringing of a person has a major effect on how someone presents themselves to the modern world, and if they are unable to assert themselves, it could hurt their chance of being chosen for a job, picked for a spot on the team, or in general, the chance of becoming an outlier.
When we think of outliers, we automatically assume it has to do with a person’s ability. Malcolm Gladwell explains in Outliers that it’s based off of more. It has to do with opportunity, ambition, and upbringing, along with chance, like when and where a person was born. Gladwell teaches us that success is a group effort, not just the effort of one person.
-Grace Goodwin
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ReplyDeleteWhen we are young, we are very outgoing; we ask plenty of questions, we interact with others, and we are in general always curious. However, as we grow older, we tend to lose this type of confidence. Most people lose this confidence in their teenagers years because they are almost always taught to be quiet and respectful, especially to our elders. I find it very interesting that being assertive, a trait people don't usually find attractive, is a factor for an outleir.
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