Humorous Wedding Essay

1921 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Intrinsic Extrinsic Motivation

In my high school Philosophy class, the teacher recounted a story of a doctor who visited a remote village in Africa in order to provide medical services to those in need, and happened to witness a story of certain value. Here is a brief summary, as I remember it. In the village, the doctor found a wealthy young man, who was about to make a proposal to a poor, ugly and daunted woman. Now, it was a ritual for grooms to offer cows to his future brides’ parents in the village and the number of cows depended on the desirability of the bride. The numberMost received two. The new groom offered 9 cows – to the poorest, most disregarded and unwanted woman of the town. The town found her ugly, daunted and subdued. The doctor left the village and returned a few years later. He was invited to the young man’s dinner to find that daunted and ugly bride had turned into an elegant, educated spouse who spoke multiple languages. The transformation was such that the doctor thought at first it was a different woman. Then he thought the groom forced her to learn manners and get an education. But the young man’s reply left …show more content…

Gladwell explains a concept of thresholds. It is an idea that once you are above certain IQ, or any innate ability, what distinguishes successful people from people who fail is opportunity. Gladwell provides data showing that while an IQ of 115 is what is needed to graduate college, IQ levels become relatively unimportant after this threshold (79), and a person with an IQ of 130 has as much chance of winning the Nobel Prize as someone with an IQ of 180 (80). However, another way of phrasing this concept thresholds would be: if you don’t have the minimal innate faculty, you cannot succeed above a certain level. It would be extremely difficult for people with an IQ of 100 to educate themselves beyond a Bachelor’s

Show More
Related

  • Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World

    953 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dr. Paul Farmer’s vocation is providing healthcare to those less fortunate. He medically treats the Haitians for TB. Paul devoted his whole life to helping the Haitians with their healthcare problems and living conditions. He gave them proper medicine and was able to do this through global fundraising and fighting the large pharmaceutical companies. But unfortunately, with this came sacrifice. Paul had to stay in Haiti for months at a time; he was unable to see his wife and kids. Because of this, his wife eventually left him. But Paul was so devoted in his work in Haiti it appeared he did not care about his personal life because Paul’s work was his life. He considered the people of Haiti, which were his patients, his family. He wasn’t paid for his work; money didn’t matter. All the medicine and food he got was paid from various fundraising efforts. Because of this, he still did not receive eno...

    Read More

  • Outliers Summaries

    630 Words  | 2 Pages

    The introduction of Outliers begins with an inspection of Italian American immigrants near the end of the 19th century, the founders of a small town in Pennsylvania, called Roseto. In a study conducted by physician Stewart Wolf, et al. researchers set out to decide how the people of Roseto were able to live longer, healthier lives than that of the people in the towns of the same region, as well as the rest of the nation. The secret of the success for the people of Roseto could be found in a nearly unanimous social integration, which focused on respect for elders, a common set of religious beliefs, and an egalitarian way of thinking. Wolf’s findings introduced the medical community to a new way of researching serious health risks; research without isolation of the subject, by including the environment of the people studied. Gladwell ends the introduction by preparing the reader to use “The Roseto Mystery” analogously with his extended definition of success.

    Read More

  • What Defines Success in Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Outliers Steinberg Analysis

    341 Words  | 1 Pages

    Stephen Steinberg makes a good point, when having been at the right place, right time, to gain an investment opportunity. In the book, Outliers, Steinberg says that “There is no doubt that those Jewish immigrants arrived at the perfect time, with the perfect skills,” says sociologist Stephen Steinberg. “To exploit that opportunity, you had to have certain and those immigrants worked hard. They sacrificed. They scrimped and saved and invested wisely. But still, you have to remember that the garment industry in those years was growing by leaps and bounds. The economy was desperate for the skills that they possessed.”(145). I agree. I agree the being there at the right place and time can lead to possible unique opportunities. For example a man

    Read More

  • Outliers Chapter Summary

    529 Words  | 2 Pages

    The importance of cultural legacies is very prevalent throughout chapter seven of Outliers. The chapter, “The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes”, discusses the history of Korean Air and the unbelievable number of plane crashes the company had throughout the 1980’s and 90’s. The author, Malcolm Gladwell, then goes on to investigate the causes of the crashes and more specifically the cultural traditions that cause the accidents.

    Read More

  • Outliers Analysis

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    The definition of success varies around the world, but according to Malcolm Gladwell its achievement can be broken down into a few components. Although Gladwell never truly establishes credibility in his book Outliers, he still backs up his proposed theories with reputable studies and sources which intrigue the audience to keep reading.The purpose of Outliers was to enlighten people about the different elements of success while also informing them of real life situations where seemingly less than likely people beat the odds and became the powerful figures that they are today. The intended audience is anyone who is looking to become successful or who is perhaps interested in the idea of success itself and wishes to learn more about it. Understandably, a secondary audience could be high school students who are about to venture out into the world on their own because with this book they will hopefully start paying attention to different factors of their lives and seizing opportunities that they may have otherwise passed up. Malcolm Gladwell talks about the 10,000 Hour Rule and also how I.Q. does not amount to much without creativity. He also speaks of how chance opportunity comes into play and that the distant background of a person still reflects how they handle situations in their present day life. Gladwell’s Outliers successfully informs the reader about the different components that add up to success with probable theories and credible studies to make for an interesting and motivational read.

    Read More

  • Outliers-The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell

    1888 Words  | 4 Pages

    Outliers-The Story of Success is a sociological, and psychological non-fiction book, which discusses success, and the driving reasons behind why some people are significantly more successful than others. Malcolm Gladwell explains this by dividing the book into two parts, opportunity and legacy. Opportunity discusses how select people are fortunate enough to be born between the months of January through March, and also includes the idea that those who are already successful will have more opportunities to improve and become even more successful. The 10,000-hour rule proves the idea that in order to become successful in a certain skill, one must have practiced that skill for at least 10,000 hours. In addition to the 10,000-hour rule, timing is also a major component that implies being in the right place at the right time, which brings the author to discuss Bill Gates who was born during the time where programming and computer technology was emerging, therefore sparking his interest in computers, later bringing him to create Microsoft. Another point Gladwell brings forth is the notion of one’s upbringing, race, and ethnicity can be a factor behind their success. And lastly, pursuing meaningful work will cause one to continue working with their skill and not give up. Legacy is a collection of examples that support the idea: values are passed down from generation to generation, which may cause a certain group of people to be more persistent in a skill, or occupation.

    Read More

  • What It Takes to Become a Success: Outliers

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    If people work hard, focus, and are disciplined, they will succeed in the future. This has become a universal idea taught by parents, teachers, and peers. People have passed down this idea to the younger generations and they chose to live by this moral that makes sense. In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell debunks the universal idea that working hard will allow people to play hard and get further in life. Gladwell eliminates the traditional ideas of success by showing that opportunities, family background, and being born at the “right” time are actually what lead to success.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Outliers: The Story Of Success, By Malcolm Gladwell

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Chapter 8 and 9 of Outliers: The Story of Success, Gladwell exams some of the ways that Asian and American students learn math, arguing that some of the principles in the US education system should be reconsidered. I generally agree with Gladwell’s point of view. I believe in two ways, students ' principal spirit and the length of students’ studying, the US education system leaves much to be desired, though an overhaul is in progress.

    Read More

  • Two Types Of Outliers: What Is An Outlier?

    206 Words  | 1 Pages

    OUTLIERS: There are two types of Outliers 1. Milled symbol O might be outlier. 2. Static symbol sure outlier.

    Read More

  • Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

    1073 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...est high school students in America” (Gladwell 82). It was shocking to learn that all the Nobel Prize in Medicine winners did not all come from the most prestigious schools. Also, in the third chapter I notices some aspects that were highly relatable to me. My life relates to subjects included in chapter three because I am a student. It is interesting and helpful to learn that one does not need the highest IQ to succeed in today’s world. This is how I relate to chapter three. The third chapter in Outlier by Malcolm Gladwell had striking information that stated that IQs do not always determine who will be successful, and I can relate to the information in the chapter because I am student who has thought about my IQ before.

    Read More

  • Socioeconomic Status And Education Essay

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    It can be argued that the academic performance of children has nothing to do with their socioeconomic status, because there have been many cases of children from very poor families who have excelled greatly in academics (APA, 2017). Furthermore, many predominantly high-end schools have posted poor results when compared to school with poorer backgrounds. This is despite the fact children from lower socioeconomic classes do not have access to the best forms of learning materials. The high performance of children from poor backgrounds is often attributed to the fact that they are not preoccupied with many activities which would otherwise hinder them from concentrating on their studies (Sacerdote, 2002). Therefore, some believe it is false to say that poor performance is associated with children who come from low socioeconomic classes. Rather, they believe academic achievement is genetic (Sacerdote, 2002).

    Read More

  • Are child prodigies ready for university?

    806 Words  | 2 Pages

    Academic acceleration is an educational intervention based on progress through an educational program at rates faster or at ages younger than typical (Pressey, 1949). For decades, there has been fierce debate regarding child prodigies’ early entrance to university, which is one of the 18 forms of academic acceleration identified by Southern, Jones and Stanley. There is no definite answer or consensus to this controversial issue as yet. Nonetheless, with respect to the various findings in this research, which include… it is to a moderately large extent that child prodigies excelling exceptionally in different academic fields are ready to embark on their university study at their young ages. This paper demonstrates and substantiates the key findings of the research with their corresponding evidence, and hence attempts to provide justification for the early university entry of child prodigies.

    Read More

  • The Relationship Between Social Class and Educational Achievement

    1741 Words  | 4 Pages

    Research reveals that the higher the social class, the higher the levels of educational achievement are likely to be. The children of parents in higher social classes are more likely to stay on in post compulsory education, more likely to achieve examination passes when at school, and more likely to gain university entrance. These features painted a true picture of British education in the twentieth century and can be argued to follow this trend today. However, whether there has been any reduction in the inequalities is more debatable, but some research suggests that these inequalities are as great as ever, despite the overall improvements within the education system. Many researchers argue that IQ tests are biased in favour of the middle class, since members of this group largely construct them.

    Read More

  • The sacrificial Egg

    1040 Words  | 3 Pages

    The small African village located on the bank of the river Niger has a story of its own, that only the old and wise are able to des...

    Read More

More about Humorous Wedding Essay

Open Document