Outliers...

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What makes a person successful? Is it innate talent? Genetic gifts that gives someone an edge? Malcolm Gladwell will tell you otherwise.

In team sports, it's your birthday that often matters. In business it's seizing little-exploited opportunities. In music, computer science, and other fields, it's practice (about 10,000 hours' worth). In education it's discipline and commitment and culture. In many cases, it's just luck. Being at the right place at the right time. Hardly anyone's successful because he or she is a "self-made" man or woman.

Another very interesting aspect about success is culture. Gladwell explains how different cultures developed and why those cultures affect us so. Northern England's culture of honor was directly transferred to America's southern familial feuds. Chinese patience and attention to detail in the rice paddy transferred to Asian-American's excellence in school. Trust me when I say it's great reading and a great reminder that we are all a sum of many different parts.

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