Maybe you've heard of him? He's written several
critically acclaimed books, including The Tipping Point (2002)
which I just finished reading this weekend.
The central thesis in Gladwell's writings is that nothing in
this world happens for any ONE reason. Human activity,
human inactivity, the vagaries of random events...all of
these affect our lives. For the sake of simplicity (and sanity)
we convince ourselves that there is one simple reason
why any one thing occurs. But, as Gladwell proves,
we're just kidding ourselves.
Through the spectrum of "life-as-complex-event"
Gladwell shows us how and why Sesame Street came
into being (but also why Blue's Clues did better in
educating preschoolers); why an art expert could
immediately detect that a priceless ancient Greek vase
was fake (and why, after dismissing the expert's claims
and placing the vase on display, a New York museum
finally agreed that his suspicions were correct); how to
tell if a couple is about to get divorced (even if audio
tapes of them talking in private during marriage
counseling don't seem to give it away); why, after a
certain number of drinks of each, no one can tell the
difference between Pepsi and Coke; why the Beatles
and Bill Gates succeeded; why you've never heard of
the world's smartest man; and why Asians are so good
at math, yet tend to crash airplanes.
(You can't tell me that you're not even mildly curious
about any one of the above. You know you are.
These are curious things. And Gladwell gives the
answers.)
Some of Gladwell's ideas are controversial, especially
in a modern world that believes that racial and cultural
backgrounds don't (or shouldn't) define who we are, and
that the best and brightest always rise to the top. Yet
if you're willing to read them carefully and thoughtfully,
you'll find many of these ideas convincing.If you haven't read any of the above books, head out
to your local library and check out a copy. I can promise
you this much: you will be enlightened.
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