The 10, 000 Hour Rule By George Gladwell
Chapter 2 is called "The 10,000-Hour Rule", which refers to the claim that to become expert at anything a person must spend 10,000 hours at it. Gladwell begins by describing the success of a computer programmer named Bill Joy. Joy comes to the University of Michigan as a teenager in 1971 and finds his way to the new computing center that opens there the same year. He becomes a well-known programer famous for his quick ability and skill. After graduate school he co-founds Sun Microsystems and helps write the computer language Java. Much of the software used to connect computers to the internet is written by Joy. Among computer programmers he is famous as someone whose ability is far beyond the average.
Gladwell asks whether there might be something …show more content…
He describes the unusual circumstances in the timing of Bill Joy's career in computer programming. In the early 1970s, when Joy begins college, the University of Michigan computer center is one of the best in the world. It is also remarkable in that it gives students access to it through terminals that allow a large number of users at the same time. This is different from previous computers, which are limited to loading one application at a time. Furthermore, Joy and some of his fellow students discover how to cheat the program that limits the amount of time they are allowed to use the computer and get unlimited time. He spends many hours every day programming, often working through the night. After graduating and going on to the University of California, Joy continues to program day and night. By his own estimate, he spends some 10,000 hours …show more content…
At the time, only a handful of schools have computer centers where students have access and Joy is able to have unlimited time. He is talented, yes, but he is also one of a very few people in the world who has the opportunity to put in 10,000 hours of work on programming.
Gladwell again diverts from Joy's story to discuss this 10,000 hour rule in another example. He looks at the Beatles, the remarkably successful British band of the 1960s that seem to come out of nowhere to rocket to stardom in the US. However they do not come out of nowhere, Gladwell explains. They get their start playing in the 24-hour clubs of Hamburg, Germany, where they play for hours at a time several times a day. By the time they start getting public notice, they have already put in over 10,000 hours playing as a band he
Gladwell asks whether there might be something …show more content…
He describes the unusual circumstances in the timing of Bill Joy's career in computer programming. In the early 1970s, when Joy begins college, the University of Michigan computer center is one of the best in the world. It is also remarkable in that it gives students access to it through terminals that allow a large number of users at the same time. This is different from previous computers, which are limited to loading one application at a time. Furthermore, Joy and some of his fellow students discover how to cheat the program that limits the amount of time they are allowed to use the computer and get unlimited time. He spends many hours every day programming, often working through the night. After graduating and going on to the University of California, Joy continues to program day and night. By his own estimate, he spends some 10,000 hours …show more content…
At the time, only a handful of schools have computer centers where students have access and Joy is able to have unlimited time. He is talented, yes, but he is also one of a very few people in the world who has the opportunity to put in 10,000 hours of work on programming.
Gladwell again diverts from Joy's story to discuss this 10,000 hour rule in another example. He looks at the Beatles, the remarkably successful British band of the 1960s that seem to come out of nowhere to rocket to stardom in the US. However they do not come out of nowhere, Gladwell explains. They get their start playing in the 24-hour clubs of Hamburg, Germany, where they play for hours at a time several times a day. By the time they start getting public notice, they have already put in over 10,000 hours playing as a band he