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Introduction In the introduction to Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell begins by giving the definition of the word outlier as a person, situation, or thing that is different from others. This definition of something that is markedly different from the normal or the average is the foundational principle of his book. Gladwell studies people and situations that are above average or that stand out from the norm, and he looks into all of the different factors that played a role in creating their success. To explain the concept of an outlier in more depth, Gladwell describes the people of an Italian village named Roseto Valfortore. Many of these Italians emigrated and ended up all living in the same small town in Pennsylvania, which they named Roseto. Over time, they remained a close-knit community, closed off from the rest of the world for the most part. What is interesting about their community in Pennsylvania is that hardly any of the men in the city suffer from heart disease. This was discovered in the 1950s when a doctor, Stewart Wolf, was traveling in the area. One of the local physicians told him that he rarely saw anyone from the small town of Roseto for heart disease. This intrigued Wolf, who then did extensive studies on the people of the town including their physical makeup, culture, lifestyle, and all other possible factors that could play a role in heart disease. What the physician discovered was quite interesting: people in the town right next to Roseto suffered from normal levels of heart disease, as did people who moved away from Roseto. Also, the Rosetans did not eat healthily, exercise much, or have very active lifestyles. Despite all of these factors, the Rosetan community still had hardly any heart disease. Wolf concluded that their lack of heart disease was caused by their attitude and lifestyle. The Chapter 1 - The Matthew Effect Gladwell begins by quoting a verse from the Bible that states that those who have will be given more while those who have not will lose that which they had. Throughout the chapter, Gladwell describes certain advantages sports players and children in school have simply because of their birth dates. They happened to be born in an advantageous part of the year, and that time of birth led them to have certain advantages that spiraled upwards from that point on. Gladwell explains a rather unique statistic: of players in Canadian professional hockey leagues, 40% were born between January and March, 30% between April and June, 20% between July and September, and only 10% between October and December. The explanation for this unusual statistic is simple: in Canada, the cut-off birth date for trying out for hockey leagues is January 1st. So, if you turn ten on January 1, you are going to be a lot bigger, physically more mature, and more coordinated than a child who turns ten on December 31st. One year's difference in adolescence makes a huge difference in a child's ability and strength on the sports field. After noting this statistic, Gladwell then goes on to describe the spiral effect from that point on—the bigger kids will play better and then be scouted by better coaches for more competitive teams. On those competitive teams, the bigger kids will be given better coaches, more chances to play and practice, and games against other more competitive teams. From there, they are scouted into more elite teams, and it just gets better. From merely being born in the first part of the year, some children have an innate advantage that often has nothing to do with personal ability or work ethic. They are simply bigger and more coordinated because they are older; because of that, they are given advantages on better teams from the begi Brainpower 0:03 / 0:15 Chapter 2 - The 10,000 Hour Rule All great success stories have similarities, and one of them is that successful individuals spend a lot of time practicing and working on their craft. In fact, Gladwell cites studies and sociologists who claim that for an individual to become an expert in any skill, they need to spend about 10,000 hours practicing or working on it. Overwhelmingly, statistics show that all successful people in their fields had at least 10,000 hours of experience before they made it big. Gladwell makes the point that to get 10,000 hours of practice, which usually takes a decade, you need a lot of luck and extraordinary circumstances. Bill Joy, a renowned computer programmer and pioneer for Internet technology, worked at the University of Michigan, which was one of the few places in the country at the time that was equipped with a computer lab that was capable of time sharing, an invention that allowed programming to go much faster. Additionally, Joy found a way to log hours in the lab for free. From then on, he was hooked and able to accomplish his 10,000 hours, an opportunity most people would not have had. Gladwell describes the same phenomenon occurring with Bill Gates—a series of fortunate, very lucky events allowed Gates to gain 10,000 hours of practice at a very young age. Gladwell also describes The Beatles, who got a lucky break and were invited to play in Hamburg, where they spent seven days a week playing for 8 hours or more a day. It was through that experience that they gained the time needed to become a great band. Gladwell also covers how combining skills with a certain period in history enables many to succeed. For example, most of the wealthiest Americans throughout history were born within the same time frame in the late 1800s, which allowed them to take advantage of the Industrial Revolution. Gladwell's assertion Chapter 3 - The Trouble With Geniuses (Part 1) Malcom Gladwell describes the incredible genius of Christopher Langan, currently known as the smartest man in America. Langan has an IQ of 195. His genius makes him an outlier because he stands out so much in comparison to the rest of the world. However, has that genius helped Langan be successful in his life? Other than the celebrity it has garnered, has he done well? The interesting thing about Langan is that in traditional terms, he is not very successful. Despite being invited to speak on television and being interviewed a lot, he has not had any publications, has no college degree, and has not impacted the world of academia. He works on a ranch and lives a very low-profile life. Gladwell compares Langan to Einstein, who had an IQ of 130—still in the genius category. Both men were geniuses, but what led one man to succeed and not the other? To answer part of the question, Gladwell summarizes the results of a long-term study done on intelligence by Lewis Terman, a professor of psychology at Stanford University in the early 1900s. He studied close to 1,500 students who had high IQs throughout their lifetimes. The results yield many interesting findings, one being that when it comes to intelligence, there tends to be a threshold; once you get past a certain level of intelligence, it does not really impact your success much. Instead, other factors—particularly creativity, the ability to think in innovative ways, and dealing well with change and unexpected factors—are what help people succeed. To elaborate on what is called "the threshold effect of intelligence" in real life, Gladwell cites a study done of University of Michigan graduates. Through their affirmative action program, the university admits disadvantaged students who do not do as well in college classes and tend to have lower IQs. However, after they Chapter 4 - The Trouble With Geniuses (Part 2) Gladwell describes the background of Chris Langan, who has an IQ of 195 and is considered the smartest man in America. Chris grew up incredibly poor with a working mother and a drunken father. When he went to college, he dropped out. Since then, he has not achieved success in traditional terms. Gladwell contrasts this with Robert Oppenheimer, one of the crucial designers of the nuclear bomb; he, too, was brilliant, but he came from a wealthy family, had a degree from Harvard, and was very successful. Gladwell contrasts Langan with Oppenheimer to ask what was the critical difference between these two geniuses? Part of the answer came in Chapter 3, where Gladwell discussed the "threshold effect" of intelligence: intelligence has a threshold; after that, real-life skills need to kick into gear to help someone succeed. Langan was poorly equipped with those real-world skills, whereas Oppenheimer had the tools necessary to succeed. Gladwell asks why that was. Gladwell summarizes an interesting study done by a sociologist named Annette Lareau, who followed third graders around in their home settings, analyzing the different parenting styles exhibited. Her conclusions were quite simple: there were only two parenting styles, and the difference between them was explained only in terms of the income levels of the parents. Parents who were upper middle class and wealthy demonstrated a "concerted cultivation" style in which they felt it was their job to help foster, develop, and aid their children's talents and success. They also emphasized their children's independence and helped them navigate real-world situations. On the other hand, lower classes tended to exhibit a parenting style Lareau called "accomplishment of natural growth" in which they were hands-off and had the attitude that their children would grow and develop natura Chapter 5 - The Three Lessons of Joe Flom This chapter begins with the background and history of Joe Flom, who is a lawyer at one of the most successful law firms in the nation. To explain elements of Flom's success that might not be as obvious, Gladwell also describes another successful Jewish lawyer—Alexander Bickel. These lawyers have similar stories: they were children of hard-working Jewish immigrants who came into their lawyer status in the 1950s and 1960s at a time when most successful law firms were not hiring Jewish lawyers. Because of this, many had to start firms on their own and take work other firms would not accept. One such type of work dealt with the dismantling of businesses—corporate takeovers. This work often went to Jewish law firms, and with expanding business and weakened regulations in the 1970s, corporate takeovers became much more common. Because the Jewish firms already had a reputation for doing that kind of work, they got even more. The first lesson of Joe Flom is that what started as a disadvantage—being Jewish and receiving work that no other law firms wanted—in the end turned out to be a stepping-stone for success. The second lesson of Joe Flom centers on when exactly Flom was born and how that played a role in his success. During the Great Depression, birth rates dropped to record lows. This means that any children born during that time had certain advantages—smaller class sizes, greater acceptance rates to universities, and more complete access to resources that were developed during the booming 1920s. Also, because there were fewer people available to take jobs, the jobs paid better and the choices were more diverse. Because of this, Joe Flom and many of his colleagues had advantages merely from being born during the Great Depression. Gladwell describes the third lesson of Joe Flom by telling the story of Louis and Chapter 6 - Harlan, Kentucky Gladwell describes a feud that occurred between two Appalachian families in the late 1800s in Kentucky. The Howard and Turner families fought a bitter feud in which many people ended up dying. At the same time in other locations in the Appalachians, similar family feuds were breaking out. There was an epidemic of Appalachian family feuds, some lasting for decades. The area became infamous for the feuding, and outside help was often brought in to stop the chaos. The explanation for this behavior is tied back to something called "the culture of honor." Many of these families came from Scotland, Ireland, and Northern England—places that relied on raising and herding animals. Theft of sheep and cattle was common. Because of their fierce drive to protect their animals and right the wrongs caused by thieving, a culture of honor was born; injustice was fought through revenge to maintain one's honor and send a message that you are not to be stolen from. These herdsmen moved to Appalachia, where they continued to herd livestock in the fertile mountains of America, and so their culture of honor continued. When someone tried to steal their animals, they retaliated with revenge and honor killings. These men's behavior was outside the norm—they were outliers—and can be explained through their cultural background and how they earned a living. Gladwell then describes a psychological study conducted in the 1990s that would have college students walk down a tight hallway where a passerby would bump into them and call them a name. The psychologists were interested in measuring how these students would respond to the insult; they measured heart rate, perspiration, salivation, blood pressure, and other indicators of rage and stress. Interestingly, students from southern states reacted to the insult with more aggression, hostility,