Outliers: The Story of Success

By Malcolm Gladwell

Reviewer: Miriam Arend

I began reading Outliers because I had read every book I checked out from the library and needed a book to take with me to a somewhat boring event. Although I was not keen to read it at first, I eventually did and found it to be interesting. I almost never read nonfiction because, in my opinion, most nonfiction books are extremely uninteresting, but Outliers surprised me. Gladwell has written many other scientific books that I might be interested in as well after reading Outliers. This book contains data, but Gladwell uses many stories in his writing, so for me reading this book felt like listening to a talented speaker at a science fair.

Outliers argues that we as a society need to recognize other factors beyond those we typically mark as indicative of future success. Focusing only on sheer intelligence and ambition has limited our view of everyone who could truly be successful. Each chapter examines one particular person, study or group and unpacks every aspect of that story. One that struck me as especially interesting was a study conducted by Lewis Terman. Terman found a group of about 250,000 school-aged children whose IQ’s were over 140. He watched these children grow, expecting that every one of these brilliant children would have incredible futures. However, to the public’s amazement (and his dismay), he found that only some were nationally known, and most had ordinary careers. In fact, Terman had rejected two children initially because their IQ wasn’t high enough, but these children (William Schockley and Luis Alvarez) went on to become Nobel laureates. Another scientist even proved that if Terman had selected children with random IQ’s, such a group would have ended up doing almost as many impressive things. Terman later analyzed the children’s records again, this time concluding that only one thing mattered for his experiment: once a child’s IQ was high enough (around 120), it didn’t matter how much higher it was. What mattered the most for each of these incredibly bright children was their family background. Children who came from richer, more privileged families achieved more than children of the same (or possibly even higher) IQ from a less privileged family. To help people overcome the obstacle of economic class, Gladwell suggests that we offer extra schooling for underprivileged children in the summer because this is when the largest gap between social classes widens. Wealthier parents typically ensure that their children continue to learn during the summer months, giving them an enormous advantage over poorer children who often do not have access to as many books or any educational programs. 

Another section I found interesting was one about opportunity. This section has impacted my own life, and the life of my family. Gladwell points out that professional Canadian hockey players are almost never born in the fall. In Canadian youth hockey, the cut-off age for teams is January 1. What this means is that someone whose tenth birthday is January 2 could play against other children who don’t turn 10 until December, giving the older players a huge advantage. Gladwell notes that although this seems like a small difference, it turns out to make a much bigger impact when Canadian hockey coaches begin selecting players for more elite teams. Players selected for these teams are privileged with more practice time, more opportunities to play in games, and better coaching than someone who is not selected for this league. A coach searching for players for a 10-year-old elite team would notice the more developed skills and larger physical size of boys born in an early month (because they have had more time to grow and more time to develop their hockey skills) than boys who might be just as talented, but who are physically smaller and whose skills might not be as developed because they are younger. After older players are chosen for these elite teams, they soon become much more skilled than the younger boys, who continue to fall farther and farther behind. While in the US we don’t have such a rigorous hockey system, this scenario exists among other sports. For both my summer rec league team and my travel softball team, the age cut-off is also January 1. This cut-off date has greatly favored my sister (born in January) and me (born in February) when it comes to having more opportunities to pitch and also to be selected for teams. 

This principle applies to non-sports situations as well, such as what age children are sent to kindergarten. Parents of children born in August have the choice to send their child to school at 5 (as one of the youngest) or at 6 (as one of the oldest). While it might seem beneficial to start educating a child as young as possible, Gladwell’s research indicates that in general, this approach is more harmful than helpful to a child. Many schools have multiple levels of classes, such as a reading group for students who are struggling to read, students who are average, and students whose reading level is higher than the rest of their grade. A younger child is less likely to be selected for a higher group, even if they would eventually be as capable if they were as old as most of their classmates. By contrast,  those in the higher reading group are more likely to continue to be placed in more advanced classes due to the extra guidance and challenging books they are given when they are young. The cycle of success perpetuates itself just as in the Canadian youth hockey league. To combat this type of disadvantage, Gladwell suggests that two elite hockey leagues be formed: one for those whose birthdays fall in the first half of the year, and another for those born in the second half of the year. He also suggests that parents choose to begin their child’s education at a later age, rather than pushing a younger child to catch up with older children.

Overall, I didn’t expect to like this book, but I was surprised by Gladwell’s talent as a writer. What could have been a dull book full of data was instead transformed into a collection of interesting stories. With every scenario he presents, Gladwell argues that while practice and talent are undoubtedly important for success, early advantage and social privileges are what truly make outliers. While some sections I found to be slightly dull, most of Gladwell’s interpretations are interesting, and even funny. I would give this book a 5/5 because it is easily the best nonfiction book I’ve ever read.