Outliers

Outliers (Malcom Gladwell)


Finished this book in record time, which in itself is testament to its readability. Nice light psychology book examining the factors behind "outliers"-exceptional individuals like bill gates etc. Basic point is while of course such people are exceptionally intelligent And creative, that on its own does not explain why they are so outstanding. In all cases theee weremsome unique circunstances that promoted mere excellance to one in a million brilliance. So, whether it was bill attending a school which happened to have extraordinary computer facilities,or the beatles having a job in frankfurt which had them playing hours on end - the raw talent was exploded due to freak chances to obtain massive amounts of high quality stimulating practise. It seems to be world class in any field involves typically 10,000 hours of practise and this requires the right opportunities and stimilation.

This is fascinating enough in its own right, but also gives rise to some interesting thoughts. Firstly, while not denigrating the achievments, it shows the role luck plays in sucess. For me it is ironic that the examples are largely american, since i think it is a strong counter argument to an opinion that i think is common in the US,namely that success is very much an individual achievement, and as a consequence it is unfair and wrong to tsx and redistribute what are seen as the pure fruits of one's labours. Of course in part they are,but what the book shows is that the magnitude of the fruits are not. Not that the fact that bill gates could put in thouaands of hours work means his doing so wasn't amazing effort, but the point i take from it is there are other coincidences that made the difference between him and lots of other people who probably worked just as hard. It's not that bill gates doesn't deserve to earn way more than the average person, he of course does, it's just that he doesn't deserve to earn milions of times more. His success is due to many unacknowledged efforts of others ,from the people who paid via taxes or charity to fund the computers he worked with, to the cleaners and road workers etc. who built and maintain the infrastructure that allows his techonological ideas to flourish and be used.

Hence, while such achievers should be rewarded and praised, they should not be considered gods who managed it single handedly. This idea i think also has relevence at all levels of society; everything we achieve is in part on the backs of others, and that i think is a major reason why progressive tax regimes are valid and fair. It takes account of the "scaling factor" which underlies why one persons eight hours of work earns more than someone else who works just as long and just as hard. Or even harder- my hour at the computer might earn me way more than an hour somebody spends lugging bricks in the hot sun, but i had the luck to not only have the ability but also the chances and education to get such a job, and it is hence ownly partly down to me.

On the subject of ability, another interesting point in the book was while some level of say,IQ, is necessary, more than a certain level doesn't help much with "success". The example was given of the guy who had an IQ topping Einstein and yet was long term unemlpoyed. Or the group of kids idenitified with very high levels of intelligence, but when tracked as group only achieved pretty average achievements in general. While it is a pity to see how talent can be frustrated by life, the positive flipside is that if there are many mechansisms then ther oportunities are open to more of us.

Another interesting theme was the influence of factors like culture, most astonishingly in the increased risk of plane crashes in flight teams from very hierachical and diffident societies. In this casemthe reason was the reluctance of co-pilots etc. to question flawed decisions by pilots, or demand clairification from air traffic control, but it highlights a general problem in modern societies where roles are necesarily divided into areas of expertise. As Caldiani shows in Influence, the psychology of persuasion, even in "flat" societies like the US nurses for examplem will blindly follow through on doctors blatantly dangerous mistake, simply since used to defering to authority.

Anyway, all in all a very interesting and thought provoking read-just what wamt in a book!