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Outliers Gladwell Analysis

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The meaning of "success" has numerous interpretations, whether it is your own or society's definition. Within Outliers author Malcolm Gladwell explains that being successful has nothing to do with what kind of person you are, so whether you are intelligent and hardworking or lazy and aloof, it depends on your circumstances growing up. Whether your parents happen to be immigrants, you are one of the smartest men in the country or you make a habit of practicing an activity for a certain amount of hours a day, your own personal success, according to Gladwell is defined by the conditions you grew up in; the idea of being successful varies from culture to culture, therefore, there is no definite meaning of success other than one's interpretation. …show more content…

Despite these conditions you would probably assume that he works for the government or something along those lines, however, that is not the case. Due to the condition of his family, Lagan did not have much exposure to opportunities that would help him in the near future: "But that's because those others had had help along the way, and Chris Langan never had. It wasn't an excuse. It was a fact. He'd had to make his way alone, and no one--- not rock stars, not professional athletes, not software billionaires, and not even geniuses--- ever makes it alone" (Gladwell 172). Robert Oppenheimer, a man with about the same IQ, comes from a wealthy family and was provided opportunities that helped shape his future and become a successful theoretical physicist. According to Gladwell, there is a 10,000-hour rule which details that if you want to become an expert in something that you would need to practice that skill for at least 10,000 hours. Practice in reality is a primary factor in determining your success: "Practice isn't the thing you do once you're good. It's the thing you do that makes you good." (Gladwell 59). If people did not condition themselves to practice for a number of excruciating numbers during the week, would we have people such as Yo-Yo Ma or Beethoven, both

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