History has it that the underdogs of our society are ought to win due to their disadvantages. In David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell (the author of Blink and Outliers) explores why the disadvantaged misfits were able to win their greatest opposing giants. Gladwell initiates his discovery with the Biblical story of David, an Israeli shepherd boy, who killed Goliath with a slingshot. He explains how the chances of the underdogs increase when they fight unconventionally. In our society, our advantages can limit us to do the average rather than find a new way to battle challenges ; so theoretically,disadvantages play to our side .He starts with the first example, “In Rosewood High school, Ranadive coached a team of girls who had no talent in a sport he knew nothing about. He was an underdog and a misfit, and that gave him the freedom to try things no one else even dreamt of” (Gladwell 67) . This work of literature is not a theory but rather a fact-based research on abnormal neurological behavior of ‘disadvantaged’ people. Gladwell writes about the art of battling giants to prove that misfits and underdogs are bound to win due to their limited material resources and many disadvantages.
Being at a disadvantage means the state or an instance of being in an unfavorable circumstance or condition. In David and Goliath, there are many minor themes that lead to the bigger picture: Remote miss underdogs have become extraordinary leaders and legendary examples for those at the same ‘disadvantages’. The example of the London bombing by the Nazis set the theme of mishaps that resulted in three types of people: direct hits, near misses, and remote misses. Direct hits are people who got killed from the bombing and near misses might have been the ...
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... was the marginal and damaged, which should remind us that there are real limits to what evil and misfortune can accomplish. If you take away the gift of reading, you create the gift of listening. If you bomb a city, you leave behind death and destruction. But you create a community of remote misses. If you take away a mother or a father, you cause suffering and despair. But one time in ten, out of that despair rises as indomitable force. You see the giant and the shepherd in the Valley of Elah and your eye is drawn to the man with sword and shield and the glittering armor. But so much of what is beautiful and valuable in the world comes from the shepherd, who has more strength and purpose than we ever imagine” (Gladwell 346). Remote misses are what makes our society full of teachers who through their pain create a better thought-out world; a world of remote misses.
Malcolm Gladwell is a canadian-english journalist, speaker, and bestselling author. In his bestselling book “Outliers”, Malcolm Gladwell discusses success and what patterns correlate with it. He states that how much time you put into a certain activity, specifically 10,000 hours, can put you in a elite level of proficiency. This in turn can give someone the tools to allow them the ability to be successful. Using historical citations, patterns, and real life examples, Gladwell forms his 10,000 hour rule. Due to his knowledgeable yet calm tone Gladwell seems to show credibility. His intended audience could be people who enjoy statistics or people who want to be successful and find possible ways to do so. Gladwell uses a logical appeal to show the patterns he has found through his studies of success. He supports his claim with overwhelming statistics which back it. He also uses similes to help better understand how he can relate the patterns he has found for the elite in a certain activity to other things. Foil is probably Gladwell's best means of convincing the reader to his thesis of the 10,000 hour rule. He uses Foil to compare success and we define to legends such as Bill Gates The Beatles and Bill Joy. Overall Gladwell uses Logos, similes, and foils to support his claim of the 10,000 hour rule.
This work documented the human experience in a light that I would not have seen it had I only read the books assigned to me in class. The themes in this book and how they were portrayed helped me to be able learn symbolism a bit better and also to understand my own life more clearly.
People may argue that Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is all about family background and family legacies. Others may say that what mattered most is the way someone are brought up and how much time and dedication they put into a skill or goal. People may also say that all of these factors are what the book focuses on in order to be successful. The book is not about family background, the “10,000 Hour-Rule”, or “Rice Paddies”. All of those encompass something very important, opportunity to actually apply those theories. The most important theory Gladwell presents is that opportunities are the key to become successful more so than the other theories.
I think Gladwell’s book is an interesting science. I am not sure I know enough to say it is good science yet, but the Medicine Hat Tigers example he used is surely a convincing argument for good science. Gladwell cleverly redirected the reader’s attention to the birthdays of the Tigers rosters, something a Psychologist (Roger Barnsley) had done some time ago also pointed out by Gladwell in his book. But what Gladwell did that could be construed as good science is replace the players’ names with their birthdays to highlight when the more successful players on the team were born, January, February, March and April to be exact. This is good science if the discovery’s technique was used to draft players in all sports going forward as seems to be the indication in Gladwell’s book.
reflects upon the theme of the novel. As it highlights the fact that if people in the society
An essay “Man and Superman: In athletic competitions, what qualifies as a sporting chance?” by Malcolm Gladwell is attempted to answer an issue “Do genetic advantages make sports unfair?” The essay contains two arguments: human biological diversity makes sports unfair, and, consequently, as human attempts to equalise all the players as considered a moral obligation, the sports industry has no problem with athletes’ self-transformation while doping athletes is prohibited which, in his opinion, they should be justified just like those self-transformations. Gladwell also criticises the sports industry who is actually a culprit of this fairness, they try to level the playing by measuring that no one has an advantage over others but the consequence is a catalyst of science intervention.
I perceive the value of human life as invaluable. Your text enables me to envision how life would be without the comfort and security of civilization. The man’s views on life are judged by his experiences and his sole objective is to keep him and the boy alive. The father repeatedly promises himself and the boy that he would do anything for him. “My job is to take care of you. I was appointed to do that by God. I will kill anyone who touches you.” (pg 80).The boy returns the act of concern that the man has for him. The boy puts a large emphasis on that the man also must eat and drink ‘you to’. His compassion and willingness to help others in need brings conflict between him and his father. “Cant we help him? Papa? No. We cant help him.” (pg 51) The difference of the father’s practicability and the boy’s compassion is predominant. The text reinforces the idea that all life is sacred and important.
Malcolm Gladwell once said, “...people who are outliers—in men and women who, for one reason or another, are so accomplished and so extraordinary and so outside of ordinary experience that they are as puzzling to the rest of us as a cold day in August.” The author, Wes Moore, of the book, The Other Wes Moore, is considered an outlier through the “Gladwellian” lens based off of Gladwell’s book, Outliers. Wes’s story demonstrates objectives that define him as an outlier with the contributions of where he’s from, his advantages, and also his attitude over his ability. These contributions therefore define him as an outlier through the “Gladwellian” lens.
“People don't rise from nothing....It is only by asking where they are from that we can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn't”(Gladwell 18).
This is an odd little book, but a very important one nonetheless. The story it tells is something like an extended parablethe style is plain, the characters are nearly stick figures, the story itself is contrived. And yet ... and yet, the story is powerful, distressing, even heartbreaking because the historical trend it describes is powerful, distressing, even heartbreaking.
Once in a while, it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to. Gladwell believes that cultural legacies are powerful forces. Cultural legacies are the customs of a family or a group of people, that is inherited through the generations. According to Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, Cultural legacies is something that’s been passed down for generations to generations. It depends on what type of legacies was passed that will affect a person. If a good legacy was passed down, someone can keep that legacy going by trying hard at keeping the legacies going. If a bad legacy was passed down; I believe that cultural legacies can be altered or changed, by good working habits, determination, and a positive mindset to succeed. Culture can affect either positively or negatively, but we have the power to turn our cultural
Success without adversity is impossible. Everyone in life has their ups and downs and nothing in this world is perfect. At some point in life, hardships begin to occur and that’s when the real test begins. Some people rise up and try their absolute best to take a stand against the challenge. Then there are others that would crawl back into their shells, crying for mercy. There should be no excuse for giving up or not putting in the effort. People are only successful in winning the battle of adversity when they are mentally tough. The intense game of adversity can be referred to football.
In Harrison, competition is looked at as a major cause of destruction. The handicaps are put in place to try to prevent the Dark Ages again by making sure nobody can compete with each other. The General shoots Harrison as an attempt to stop him from encouraging competition and destroying the system they put in place . Due to the extreme measures the government took, everyone attempts to take away the competition. An example of this is shown when Hazel’s encourages a stuttering news reporter by saying “at least he tried”. In today’s society, signs that competition is a major cause of destruction are beginning to show. One example is that some people believe the wrong person was chosen for president and are trying to prevent him from taking office. Today, people will go to extremes to please themselves. Cheating is a good example, seeing how some people will try to disable others to win. Competition is becoming less important, however. At some sports with younger kids, no trophies are given or, in other instances, they will reward everyone with a
Beyond the shield of civilization and into the depths of a primitive, untamed frontier lies the true face of the human soul. It is in the midst of this savagery and unrelenting danger that mankind confronts the brooding nature of his inner self.
Any athlete from high school to the professional ranks has most likely heard the phrase, “Hard work beats talent.” To them, this statement provides incentive to work hard, for even if their opponent is more talented than them, they can still be victorious through hard work. To some, hard work is the most important aspect of life. However, others may argue that one’s career or social status is much more important than hard work. In Bernard Malamud’s short story, The First Seven Years, the shop owner views social status as much more important than hard work. However, among the three, hard work, career, and social status, hard work is most certainly the most important.