John 'Lofty' Wiseman

A fascinating study on why some people do well in life and others don't. The author asserts that raw talent is not enough to guarantee success; external factors like the culture you are born into and your date of birth have a huge effect on outcomes. The book gives lots of fun anecdotes about people who were wildly successful (or not) in diverse fields like sports, computers, math, law, piloting airplanes, etc.; along with enough supporting data to feel like there is science behind it. That opportunities and environment shape outcomes is not surprising, but the types of external factors that the author suggests affect success IS unexpected. As a result I found the book very interesting.… (más)

I've heard people criticize this book for being too reliant on anecdotes, and as I was listening to it, that struck me as a fair thing to say. Gladwell makes his point by sharing very interesting, compelling examples of people who achieved great things because they were lucky in some way. Thusly he dispels the myth of the self-made man who makes his fortune with nothing but his great brain and courage.

So this book might not represent the height of Science or anything, but it was fun to listen to. I got this on audiobook because Gladwell reads it himself and his voice is great. I especially liked the last part where he talked about his own family's path to success.… (más)

What is one supposed to do with this book? It was the literary equivalent of cotton candy - full to the brim with sweetness but with a very faint aftertaste, and you begin to wonder if it was even worth it. But then again, it was interesting in the moment, right?
Outliers is also spectacularly optimistic ('successful' people become that way because of luck and destiny, and not only because they are geniuses! The traditional notion of modern genius is antiquated. It probably needs to be quashed altogether) or pessimistic (if it's going to take so much luck and embracing your cultural heritage and being born in January for success, then I might as well not bother), depending on how you look at it. Plus, the fact that the author's claims that not having summer vacation is good for learning outcomes for poor students just annoyed me because apparently - good teachers and learning paradigms are not good enough? And some 'sacrifice' is expected?
Here, you always get the feeling the author is working backwards - starting from wanting to quash the notion of outliers, and cherrypicking his way into feel-good neoliberal 'meritocratic' discussions, without offering or even hinting at a structural change. I also didn't feel the topic was deep enough to warrant a book written on it. Magazine article in the Economist? Sure. But a 300-page book? Not the best idea.… (más)