Summary
Gladwell’s Outliers started with the introduction of the Roseto Mystery in which he presented the facts and findings of the physician, Stewart Wolf on how the Rosetans lived a life differently from Americans living in the city. Evidences and findings on how the Rosetans have a better life and little cases of heart diseases was not only due to the atmosphere of the place, the things they do, or the food they eat but simply the way Roseto is in which people greeted each other, go to church every day, and their strong family ties. In the first chapter, The Matthew Effect, we may glean from it the idea or phenomenon of “the rich becomes richer while the poor becomes poorer”. He mentioned about observations on the birth dates of Canadian hockey players and the eligibility of children to participate in youth hockey leagues. This was deemed important as it was a factor that would determine a child’s strength and ability on hockey since they were able to start earlier and they are most likely to be the ones to belong in the elite team in the future. Despite of the fact that birth date is an important factor, an individual’s own skill is really the key to reach the top. In the second chapter, The 10,000-Hour Rule, Gladwell presented that to become truly a master of something, an individual must undergo 10,000 hours of practice and mastery on a particular skill which is like doing 20 hours of work a week for 10 years. He cites examples like K. Anders Ericsson’s study at an elite Academy of Music in Berlin. The study was conducted on seeing the potential of music students by dividing them into three groups based on the potential they could see in them. According to the study, those students who belong in the elite/star group practiced more hours than the others that’s why by the age of twenty, these group of people will probably achieved mastery as they have totaled ten thousand hours of practice. Gladwell also mentioned the success