Outliers David Epstein Analysis

Amount of Control in our Lives Imagine having absolutely no control of your abilities. Our lives are controlled by several factors, but we do not control all of those factors. We are destined to control as much of our lives. In the article, “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell, the main idea is that we have the maximum control of our lives. In the article “The Sports Gene” written by David Epstein states that we have minimal control of our lives. To begin with, the article talks about how we have most of the control of our lives. In the article we are told that in order to be a master in something, the person has to have at least practiced 10,000 hours. The maximum control of our lives are reached here because you need to have dedication and actually strive to work hard and complete those ten thousand hours of practice, as the article says, “the people at the very top don’t work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much much harder” (Gladwell). Something needed
In the article he wrote, “The Sports Gene”, he argues that people who are successful are born with an innate talent, therefore, giving us minimal control over our lives. We are introduced to Donald Thomas, a very successful high jumper, who was able to reach the top at a very rapid speed as stated in the article, “Thomas advanced easily to the final, as did Stefan Holm” (Epstein). Thomas had not practiced the 10,000 hours that Gladwell argued in his article, but instead he had an Achilles’ tendon, which helped him. His innate ability was the key to success for Thomas and made him even more successful than other athletes, who trained some time in their lives. The other high jumper introduced was Stefan Holm, who unlike Thomas, reached the top with practice. As the article continues, Thomas is no longer able to keep rising to the top, but Holm on the other hand is. Thomas stayed in the same place unable to