David Finney 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.

David Finney I'm really glad you wrote his here Jennifer - I had the exact same reaction. There are only really two useful spots in the book, the first about commu…moreI'm really glad you wrote his here Jennifer - I had the exact same reaction. There are only really two useful spots in the book, the first about communication types (command down to hint) and the second about needing to spend 10,000 hours to be an expert. I feel like I don't know what to do with the rest of this book, as much of the content revolves around people being successful because yes they are driven, but more importantly they were lucky enough to be placed in an environment to nurture that drive. Basically what I took away from this book is that if you are driven individual but are not lucky enough to be in the right environment, or have the right upbringing, or born in the right time period - all things well outside your control - you are basically SOL. I completely agree and am a little frustrated as this is the first Malcom Gladwell book I have read after everyone raves about his work. I too found no engagement of meaningful criticisms or counter arguments to any of the material found in this book, or even the basic steps one should take to follow up even if the material in this book were true. It's like Malcom is saying "houses with chimneys tend to catch fire more than houses without chimneys". Ok great - statistically that may be true, but what are we supposed to do about it? Without that critical follow up step, I found this book to unfortunately be quite worthless.(less)

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