In his book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell illustrates the keys to success that determine whether or not one is successful in life. He starts the book by discussing how the the month in which you are born determines your success, due to cutoff dates. He uses examples to show how cutoff dates affect people and who gets chosen to get lessons which in turn makes them successful athletes. I find it unfair how the month you are born can affect your dreams and future because you can't choose what month you are born and it is hilarious how this defines the success of future athletes.
He also discusses how success is more than just a talent, it requires hard work and opportunities. He uses examples from different fields such as music and computers to show how success requires about 10,000 hours of time commitment. 10,000 hours is a pretty large number but I understand why it's required in order to be successful. Gladwell refers to Bill Gates and how he is lucky to have the opportunity to reside in Lakeside and take advantage of the computer room in his high school and computer access in the university near his home, which gave him extra time to practice leading to his success(Gladwell, 50-4). I agree with Gladwell and his saying that success requires opportunities because they allow you to get ahead like Bill Gates. This can be seen today as more and more children are exposed to electronics such as iPads or phones. Since technology has advanced so far and is now a common item, more and more children have the opportunities to access a electronic and learn to use it by the time they are 5. Today children have many more opportunities to learn thanks to schools, libraries and electronics. I have a cousin who got an iPad when she was 2 and already knows how to use it so well that she can download stuff by herself and she is only 4 right now, whereas I remember not owning or knowing how to use an iPhone until I was 12. I chose this passage because I agree with Gladwell that opportunities decide your future because if you can seize a chance or access something early on you can use it to your advantage to gain success, and this can especially be related to today since we have so many opportunities due to the internet, school, and our modern economy.
It's surprising how being born in certain months can determine whether you become a successful athlete, I agree with you on that. So when Gladwell substituted the players with the players birthdays I couldn't help but laugh and wonder. Then I read about how the same can be applied to education and I must admit, I had to disagree with it a bit, I was born in February an early birthday, while one of my friends was born in December, a late birthday. She did not get held back and she is just as smart as me, maybe even smarter, I don't see myself in an advantage or her at a disadvantage because we both work hard in school and get pretty good grades. So the whole successful athlete may be affected by the date in which they were born unfortunately due to cut dates, but I don't think education is necessarily the same, at least not for all kids.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Lisa, that its ridiculous how the month you were born in, defines your success because you cannot simply choose when to be born. This is unfair in terms of athletes because of cutoff dates, in Canada the junior athlete must be 10 by January 1st to join. Also, Gladwell's idea of the 10,000 hour rule is logical because those who commit to something for that long has to be able to succeed in that field. Just as Bill Gates achieved success because he had the opportunity to commit to computers for that long. I also agree with Gladwell how success does require certain opportunities so a person can get ahead, just like Bill Gates got ahead and is now worth $75 billion. Today because of technology children do have more opportunities. Just like Lisa's cousin, my nephew has been exposed to technology since he was 2 and now he's 4 and he's an expert at using his iPad and the computer.
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