The Trouble with Genuises
Gladwell presents the stories of two brilliant men, one of whom grew up in poverty without much direction or support, the other who lived comfortably and had the support of his parents and teachers. The first, perhaps predictably, does not succeed in the work world; he dropped out of college and worked a series of menial jobs. The other finds success. Gladwell posits that at least some of the difference in outcome can be attributed to "practical intelligence," the kind of knowledge that helps a person "read situations correctly and get what you want."
While the story that Gladwell tells is dramatic, the lack of cultural understanding plays out as a disadvantage in the workplace in more subtle ways everyday. How can someone best develop an undesrtanding of the unwritten rules of a workplace or an educational institution or a community? Can this skill or understanding be taught?
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Outliers: The Story of Success
I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book; I selected it in large part because I had read and enjoyed both Tipping Point and Blink, finding Gladwell both a thought provoking and entertaining writer.
In a conversation with Malcolm Gladwell, the author notes that our understanding of success is "crude" and, in his view, too focused on the individual alone and less on the culture, community, family and generation: "We've been looking at tall trees, and I think we should have been looking at the forest."
Gladwell goes inside of this idea in the first chapter, looking at elite athletes in the Canadian hockey system. He discovered that a large majority of professional players are born in the three months following the junior league cutoff. He notes that these kids have the benefit of size and maturity early on, and thus are more likely to go to the "A" leagues based on performance, where they receive better coaching and more opportunity. Not necessarily because they are the most innately talented, but because their early size and maturity advantage stays with them.
The same effect exists in school performance; members of the oldest cohort are overrepresented and the youngest are underrepresented in college.
Is it appropriate to sort children by ability early in their academic careers, i.e., elementary school, when we know that doing so permanently disadvantages a large number of students?
Highly unscientific, but out of curiosity, how many of you, fellow graduate students (and professor), were among the oldest quartile of your high school graduating class? If you're willing to share the cutoff date for your school and the month of your birth, I'll compile the information and share in a later post.
In a conversation with Malcolm Gladwell, the author notes that our understanding of success is "crude" and, in his view, too focused on the individual alone and less on the culture, community, family and generation: "We've been looking at tall trees, and I think we should have been looking at the forest."
Gladwell goes inside of this idea in the first chapter, looking at elite athletes in the Canadian hockey system. He discovered that a large majority of professional players are born in the three months following the junior league cutoff. He notes that these kids have the benefit of size and maturity early on, and thus are more likely to go to the "A" leagues based on performance, where they receive better coaching and more opportunity. Not necessarily because they are the most innately talented, but because their early size and maturity advantage stays with them.
The same effect exists in school performance; members of the oldest cohort are overrepresented and the youngest are underrepresented in college.
Is it appropriate to sort children by ability early in their academic careers, i.e., elementary school, when we know that doing so permanently disadvantages a large number of students?
Highly unscientific, but out of curiosity, how many of you, fellow graduate students (and professor), were among the oldest quartile of your high school graduating class? If you're willing to share the cutoff date for your school and the month of your birth, I'll compile the information and share in a later post.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)