The Outliers Study Guide Questions

Yes because now I believe that instead of focusing on how much a young student can take in, we should focus on a student's ability to work and be successful in the classroom.

After reading this section of the book, have your opinions changed about math classes and math ability? Explain why or why not.

Both had high IQs and would be considered geniuses. Oppenheimer however was given opportunities that allowed him to be successful, while Chris Langan was not

Compare and contrast Langan and Oppenheimer.

The Borgenichts were successful because their work was meaningful: "The prospect of those endless years of hard labor did not seem like a burden to him."

Consider the following quote: "Hard work is a prison sentence only if it does not have meaning." Explain how this quote relates to the chapter.

All of these people put in so much practice that it gave them new opportunities.

Consider the following: "Practice isn't the thing you do once you're good. It's the thing you do that makes you good." Explain how this philosophy was at work for Bill Joy, The Beatles, and Bill Gates.

"It's a world where a man's reputation is based around his life and self worth."

Describe the "culture of honor" that exists in the Appalachian mountains.

Divergence testing- "Requires you to use your imagination and take your mind in as many different directions as possible"; no single right answer; ex: The "brick and blanket" test Convergence testing- "requires no language skills or specific body of acquired knowledge" and "A measure of abstract reasoning skills"; ex: Raven's Progressive Matrices No- they measure different, but both of which are equally important

Describe the difference between 'divergence testing' and 'convergence testing'. Is one more significant than the other?

Older students: expand their knowledge Younger students: lose their knowledge due to lack of learning resources Poor students do not perform as well in class as their wealthier classmates in the beginning of the school year

Describe the significance of summer vacation as it relates to different groups of students. Why is this significant?

After so many crashes, pilots of Korean Air had to be "willing to change" in order to create more trust with their customers.

Describe the significance of the "willingness to change" as it relates to Korean Air.

The more you work, the better your work effort becomes. This work ethic will help you succeed at pretty much anything.

Describes the connection between the "10,000 hour rule" and the wet rice farmers in Asia.

Because Flom only got the cases big firms did not want, he usually ended up with "proxy fights", or hostile company takeovers. That may have seemed like a setback then, but in later years, "proxy fights" became more common. This allowed for them to get more cases and become more successful.

Explain Gladwell's statement as it relates to Joe Flom: "Buried in that setback was a golden opportunity."

"Ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness"- that's the amount of time it takes to become a master at something.

Explain the 10,000 hour rule?

Gladwell argues that there is "something profoundly wrong with the way we make sense of success". He also states that "It is only by asking wheee they are from that we can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn't".

Explain the authors viewpoint regarding "The Story of Success". Are personal qualities the sole reason one becomes an outlier?

It means that it was only part of the story, the more "successful" parts, "It leaves out my mothers many opportunities and the importance of her cultural legacy"

Explain what Gladwell means when he states, "that is the story of my mother's path to success- and it isn't true."

Every day, Marita follows the same schedule which allows her to get as much learning done as possible. By keeping up with the same schedule of learning, I am more likely to be successful because I am getting as much practice and material as I can to help me succeed

Gladwell states "success follows a predictable course." How does this quote apply to Marita? How does this apply to you?

Disagree because I Q is only a small part of success; "it involves having the kind of fertile mind Poole had."

Gladwell states that communities and companies in American society "are convinced that those at the very top of the IQ scale have the greatest potential." After reading the chapter, explain why you either agree or disagree with this statement.

Where people are from cultural legacies "persist, generation after generation, virtually intact, even as the economic and social and demographic conditions that spawned them have vanished, and they play such a role in directing attitudes and behavior that we cannot make sense of our world without them."

What are the "cultural legacies" as described in this chapter? Why are they significant to understand when dealing with people?

The people we think of as "outliers" aren't that much different from us, they were just normal people given really good opportunities

What does Gladwell mean when he states, "the outlier in the end is not an outlier at all"?

That you have to put cultural legacies behind you in order to communicate efficiently

What is Gladwell explaining about the importance of communication?

Why did people from the town of Roseto Valfotore live longer lives? Environment (ie. culture, family, home, etc.) is what shapes a person

What is the Roseto Mystery? What overarching idea is Gladwell establishing in his introduction?

"We miss opportunities to lift others onto the top rung"

What is the consequence of "prematurely writing people off as failures"?

Concerted cultivation-"An attempt to actively foster and assess a child's talents, opinions, and skills". Accomplishment of natural growth- "they (poor parents) see as their responsibility to care for their children but to let them grow and develop on their own"

What is the difference between "concerted cultivation" and "accomplishment of natural growth"?