In this section, Gladwell emphasises how cultural legacies operate as strong forces. He starts with the history of the small town situated on the Appalachian mountains of Kentucky, called Harlan. It was founded by eight immigrant families from the northern region of British Isles in the early nineteenth century. The first settlers were herders and this region was cut off from the rest of the state because of its tough accessibility. The town was always thinly populated never crossing the population mark of ten thousand people in its early history. What is of note here is that two of the founding families, the Howards and the Turners were involved in a bloody feud which started as a cheating accusation at a poker game. This feud left dozens dead after numerous brutal attacks. This was one of the many feuds occurring all over Kentucky at that same time. Gladwell was quick to recognize it as a pattern.…
The central premise of both Malcolm Gladwell’s article “Small Change: Why The Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted.” and Zizi Papacharissi’s book Affective Publics: Sentiment, Technology, and Politics is to discuss the ways in which social media platforms such as Twitter can serve as communication tools that foster action for various causes. In his article, Gladwell notes that some scholars believe that the internet and social media platforms enable an upgraded and new model of activism due to the “ease” and speed” of mobilizing causes through such outlets (Gladwell, pp. 8-9). However, Gladwell rejects such a simple assertion and, instead, argues that although these platforms can help mobilize particular movements, they alone are not enough to maintain…
In his piece, Small Change, Malcolm Gladwell documents the importance of the change in activism from the 1960s to present. Specifically how today, activism is seen electronically, as people use the media to write protests to the oppressor instead of how in the 1960s activism was seen in sit-ins. Overall, Gladwell asserts that social media is not the best way to start a movement as it does not motivate people as much as a sit-in does. I cannot help but side with Gladwell as he has a good point in saying that social media does not bring the same results as a sit-in. I, as a social media user that has participated in online protests such as signing petitions, can confirm Gladwell’s assertions as I can write a reason why things should be better,…
An Outlier is someone who stands apart from others in his or her group or profession by acting differently than others, and because of this they are successful. According to Gladwell, most people are incapable of becoming successful; Gladwell says this is because of the radically simple fact that some do not get the same chances and opportunities as others. It has more to do with a person’s fate than their intelligence in his or her field. The general idea of a population is that if a person puts enough time and hard work into something then there is no end to the possibilities to come. The global belief, with the exception of Malcolm Gladwell and his followers, believe that anybody can become successful and everyone has the same opportunity to do the same. This easily acceptable and arguably accurate idea is simply not true. Malcolm Gladwell, author of the popular and mind-altering novel Outliers, thinks otherwise.…
In “Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted” Malcolm Gladwell argues that the new reinvented social activism is inferior to the activism used in the pre-internet age. Gladwell claims in the past people used ‘high-risk’ and strategic activism; qualities that activism nowadays don’t possess. I believe Gladwell undermines the power of the internet. Gladwell makes it seem as though only pre-internet activism could make impactful changes in the world. She claims the power of the internet is only used for insignificant purposes, such as finding someone’s phone.…
Malcolm Gladwell wrote the article “Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted” to inform the world about networks such as Twitter or Facebook and their uses. Gladwell starts off by explaining how networks worked before these websites were created. He talks about how civil rights movements circulated through the country in a short period of time without the use of social networking. Then Gladwell explains the facts of why these social networks will not work in large networking situations.…
Within Gladwell's books the prevalent theme of the little things comes up constantly. The Tipping Point being the book where it prevails the most. Gladwell believes that the little things define most of the outcome in life. When he begins the book he starts off with mentioning that economists talk about “...the 80/20 principle… the idea that… 80% of the “work” will be done by 20% of the participants’’. In daily life it can be found that the 80/20 principle takes place for example a group project or a job. The minority of the people do most of the work. This 80/20 is a prime example that the smallest things are what most matter as they change the outcome of the biggest events.…
Have you ever had to make a split second decision? Have you ever mad an impulse judgment without knowing all the facts? You probably have; its human nature. Whether its reading body language, processing facial expressions, or even having someone rub you the wrong way, your gut feeling or intuition about situations can be described in a different manner. In the book “Blink” By Malcolm Gladwell, Gladwell describes his theory on thin slicing, how it works and how we can utilize this unconscious tool for our own benefit. Thin slicing is when the unconscious mind automatically identifies patterns developed from past experiences and makes what Gladwell calls snap judgments. He shows several examples of when thin slicing can be beneficial as well as a few flaws in the slicing process. One of the main points to the thin slicing process is that only small amounts of data are required so long as it’s the right data in making the proper snap judgment. This point is made in the examples that Gladwell uses with the Getty Museum, John…
1. In the novel, Outliers, the author, Malcolm Gladwell, defines key factors that leads one to be successful. To begin with, Gladwell asserts that “parentage and patronage” are key factors of success (19). In other words, success is measured based on one's maturity level. For example, a younger child in the same grade level as an older child is more likely to be at a disadvantage because he/sh e lacks the cognitive skills that the older child has developed. Therefore, the older child is placed in a more advanced program,which leads to a higher rate of success because of the opportunities the older child is exposed to (28). Furthermore, Gladwell claims that people who are blessed with more fortunate upbringings have higher chances of being successful. He emphasizes that individuals with more fortunate circumstances are given more practice time than the less fortunate; the countless hours of practice are a key factor to success (59). Another factor of success is one’s culture. Towards the end of his book, Gladwell provides an justification of how those that are Asian are more likely to succeed because of the legacy from past generations that they have a growth mindset (259). This legacy and mindset has been…
In the summary of “ What The Dog Saw” in part one “ What The Dog Saw” the author Malcolm Gladwell, spoke about how a Mexican immigrant, Caser Millan, learned how to be a Dog Whisperer. He came across the border when he was in his teens. He knew he was good at training dogs from the start because he grew up in his grandfather’s farm studying the dog’s psychology. When he went to his therapist, he realized to be a good dog trainers, you not only have to understand the dog, but understand the human. After that day, he started to teach the owners to learn how to communicate with their dogs properly so it feels like it is in a safe environment. His idea succeeded and he became very popular. He opened his own dog psychology center in Los Angles and…
Analogies are comparisons of two things in terms of relationships. Malcolm Gladwell uses uses analogies when writing about epidemics in The Tipping Point. He compared two widely differing items or events throughout the Book. Despite what one may think, he was able to explain how similar the two were very well. For example, Gladwell compares the small group of people who owned air walks to the people in Baltimore who delivered needles around the city. He also compared the rise of popularity in Hush Puppy shoes to the spread of syphilis, and then to Paul Revere’s message in the Revolutionary War. He explained how all three of these started with a small group of people involved and spread to epidermis in a small amount…
On page 40 of Outliers, a novel written by pop-psych author Malcolm Gladwell, neurologist Daniel Levitin explains, “The emerging picture from such studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world class-expert--- in anything.” Gladwell takes this quote and heavily relies on it with his thesis for the next chapter, which basically says that anyone can become a master in anything with excessive amounts of practice. He claims that the greats were not necessarily incredibly gifted at the start of their lives, but with lots of practice and effort, they were able to become experts and masters in their fields. But just how true is this…
The book Technopoly (1992) by Neil Postman, published more than two decades ago, before social media as we know it today in the 21st century. Despite the passage of time, Postman’s critique of technology remains current and relevant, even though technology has made advances that he could not have been able to fathom. Whether the reader agrees or disagrees with Postman, what he is trying to accomplish is to raise a heightened awareness of ourselves, so that we can get back in touch with our non-technological culture and reconnect with being human; to wake up and reexamine the way we use technology and not allow technology to gain control of us.…
Why is environment such a factor in today’s society? Many people are influenced by their environments and these environments shape the why people act. The environment also changes people's attitudes and behaviors psychologically. Both Malcolm Gladwell and Martha both express this concept in their writings. Malcolm Gladwell, author of Power of Context: Bernie Goetz and the Rise and Fall of New York City Crime, talks about how concepts shape the way in which epidemics are performed through an individual’s involvement with his or her environment. Gladwell expresses these many concepts through citing several examples that show how one’s environment can change the way an individual acts and can change their perspective on certain things. Martha…
We spend so much time on social media that we begin to see the world through the screen of our phones rather than the lens of our own eyes. People experience the entire thrill through a fractured prism of preconceived notions, constructed by digital imagery, second hand experiences, and other’s opinions. I see technology as efficient but it makes us lazy and less intelligent.…