Jeff Hirsh Read: June 2020
Inspiration: Why are Malcolm Gladwell books so popular and frequently cited in the media?
Summary
Written with the help of ChatGPT, below is a brief summary to understand what is covered in the book.
“Outliers”, published in 2011 by author and journalist Malcolm Gladwell, explores the factors that contribute to high levels of success and achievement. He argues that success is not simply a matter of individual talent or hard work, but is also influenced by a wide range of external factors, such as family background, culture, and social networks. The book is divided into several chapters, each of which looks at a different aspect of success and how it is influenced by these external factors. Some of the topics covered in the book include the role of education, the importance of practice and training, and the influence of culture. Throughout the book, Gladwell uses anecdotes and case studies to illustrate his points and to make his arguments more engaging and accessible. Overall, “Outliers” offers an interesting perspective on the factors that contribute to success and achievement.
Unedited Notes
Direct from my original book log, below are my unedited notes (abbreviations and misspellings included) to show how I take notes as I read.
***Disclaimer: notes taken before realizing I needed better notes
No such thing as a true outlier, success results from lots of luck and opportunity mixed with intelligence, Bill Gates lucky to have been bought a computer at a young age, Bill Joy get practice on time sharing computer with bug, Beatles have Hamburg practice, all get 10,000 hours early so when opportunity come they were ready (same w/ Joe Flom of Skadden Arps – lucky as jew, denied to other law, business world change at right moment), luck stems generations back Athletes born right after cutoff more likely to succeed NHL, MLB, soccer, arbitrary, Not all with highest IQ do well, once smart enough it’s about how raised, culture (speak up for self, edu), Asians good at math b/c culture of persistence and work, numerical system more logical to learn
