That test really hurt me during my service. I had the highest score in the company and the company clerk spread the news. Got a lot of trouble because of that.
In his latest book, "Outliers," Malcolm Gladwell considers the effect of intelligence on success. His conclusion is that the very successful all have a threshold level for intelligence, but beyond that threshold, success is determined by socio-economic factors - in other words, having the right background, being in the right place at the right time and devoting sufficient time to developing one's proficiency in his/her chosen area.
Reemphasizing his theme, Gladwell continuously reminds the reader that genius is not the only or even the most important thing when determining a person's success. Using an anecdote to illustrate his claim, he discusses the story of Christopher Langan, a man who ended up working on a horse farm in rural Missouri despite having an IQ of 195 (Einstein's was 150).[2] Gladwell points out that Langan has not reached a high level of success because of the environment he grew up in. With no one in Langan's life and nothing in his background to help him take advantage of his exceptional gifts, he had to find success by himself. "No one—not rock stars, not professional athletes, not software billionaires, and not even geniuses—ever makes it alone," writes Gladwell.[2] Later, Gladwell compares Langan with Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. Noting that they typify innate natural abilities that should have helped them both succeed in life, Gladwell argues that Oppenheimer's upbringing made a pivotal difference in his life. Oppenheimer grew up in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Manhattan, was the son of a successful businessman and painter, attended the Ethical Culture Fieldston School on Central Park West, and was afforded a childhood of concerted cultivation.[5] Outliers explains that these opportunities gave Oppenheimer the chance to develop the practical intelligence necessary for success.[5] Gladwell then provides an anecdote: When Oppenheimer was a student at University of Cambridge, he made an unsuccessful attempt to poison one of his tutors. When he was about to be expelled from the school, he was able to compromise with the school's administrators to allow him to continue his studies at the university, using skills that he gained during his cultivated upbringing.
Outliers Synopsis |
