In Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers: The Story of Success, he enters conversations about meritocracy, hierarchy, community, parenting, socioeconomic status, language, education, culture of honor, geographic influence, demographic luck, meaningful work, immigration, generational wealth, cultural legacies, racism, colorism, systems of accumulated advantages and disadvantages, and more.
In an essay, select a topic that Gladwell discusses in his book, and enter the conversation with Gladwell.
To successfully complete this assignment, you must
Identify one element of Gladwell’s argument to respond to
Fully and fairly summarize Gladwell’s overall argument and the specific topic you’re responding to
Conduct research to influence, challenge, and support your contributions to the conversation
Assert an argument that responds to Gladwell in some way:
Agree and contribute––move the conversation forward
Disagree and explain why––address Gladwell’s reasoning and evidence and explain why that reasoning and evidence are not convincing
Agree with some parts of the author’s argument and disagree with others, incorporating evidence, examples, and reasons to support your argument
First Paragraph: In the book Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell, Gladwell talks about different ways people can lead to success. One of those examples is socioeconomic status and how it plays a huge role. Specifically in the chapter “The Trouble with Geniuses Part 2,” Gladwell talks about Chris Langan and Robert Oppenheimer, both of whom had high IQs. Even though they were similar in intelligence, their family background was not as much. Oppenheimer lived in an upper-class neighborhood with countless benefits, whereas Langan’s family moved from one place to another, struggling with jobs, money, meals, and clothes. Who was the more successful individual? None other than Robert Oppenheimer, the “father” of the atomic bomb, the man who tried to poison his tutor. Langan instead became a horse rancher and lived more on the quiet side of life. Gladwell uses these comparisons to suggest that to be successful in life, one of the critical principles has to be a higher-class family background. I tend to disagree with that, as not everyone can choose where they are born from. Most of these issues come from parenting. Although some families are in the middle class or higher, not everyone has that kind of benefit.
