Aurélien answers “Interesting anecdotes, and I'll give some...”

Jenny Phillips asked this question about Outliers: The Story of Success:

Interesting anecdotes, and I'll give some credit to anyone who challenges the myth of self-determination. But the research is sloppy and never engages meaningfully with criticisms or counter-arguments. Also, what are we to do with this analysis? The prescriptive component is notably absent.

Aurélien Thomas Well, there's no prescriptive component because, that's not the point of the author to provide one. What he is doing here is, trying to find out what …moreWell, there's no prescriptive component because, that's not the point of the author to provide one. What he is doing here is, trying to find out what differentiate great successes ('outliers') from other successful endeavours. His argument might seem naïve at first (I had a bit of a trouble swallowing it) but, his multiple examples are quite convincing in the end. Actually, keeping with that line of thinking that is, hard work and golden opportunities -helping to work even harder- serving people coming out of age right at the time when a society is ripe for their so hardly won skills, we can find even more examples. What about the astronauts having pioneered the space age? Same pattern. I am sure we can find more! (less)

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