Malcolm Gladwell is a fantastic writer. He introduces ideas that I have never pondered and explains them in a conversational style which ultimately leaves me feeling that I just spent a lovely mind stimulating evening with an old friend. The only problem with his books is that I am so eager to talk about them with others that it is hard not to, until they too have finished it.
Born in England and raised in Ontario, Canada, Mr. Gladwell lives in New York City, where he has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996. He is well known as the author of the books The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (2000), Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (2005), and Outliers: The Story of Success (2008).
In his latest book Outliers: The Story of Success, Mr. Gladwell examines “Why do some people succeed far more than others?” He observes as most would that success is a combination of intelligence and ambition but takes this hypothesis several steps further. I thoroughly enjoyed his theories based on the agricultural methods employed in the middle ages by Asian vs. European peasants and the implications this has on the mathematical prowess of their respective ancestors. Chapter Two of his book The 10,000- Hour Rule, is another wonderful supposition that states “you will only reach a level of mastery if you are willing to devote essentially 10 years to a particular discipline”. Mr. Gladwell goes on to give unique examples of this theory using the paradigms of The Beatles, Bill Gates, Bill Joy and Mozart.
Mr. Gladwell is now working on another book which he describes as being about teachers and quarterbacks. I am anxiously awaiting the next batch of ideas while practicing my 10,000 hours to mastery, in various fields.
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