Gladwell Breaks it Down in H-Town: Where the Heck is the Magic Dust?!

January 21, 2009 – 5:13 pm

Welcome readers of the Houston Chron.com!! Thanks for visiting :)

Secret’s out. I have an Internet crush Malcolm Gladwell. I know I already blogged about him here and here… and also tweet about him all the time, but I just saw him speak at a Greater Houston Partnership luncheon and I’ve got just a hundred a little bit more to say.

First of all. Malcolm Gladwell is a GREAT speaker. To read the man is not to hear him. I have read his books and as much as I love them, at times he can come across as pretty clinical. In person he comes across as anything but.

And second? Outliers is much more than just a book… it’s more than a case study on human nature or an expose of secrets kept for years by Sociologist. Gladwell was able to captivate me on a higher level with his prose and my thoughts on Outliers were reoriented. Today, the concepts that make up Outliers leapt off of the pages and really became a cause; they became something to believe in.

In my blog post about Outliers on the Schipul blog, I talked about how Gladwell insists that “to build a better world, we need to replace the patchwork of lucky breaks and arbitrary advantages that today determine success – the fortunate birth dates and the happy accidents in history – that provides opportunities to all.” Gladwell’s talk today was focused on the constraints that are holding us back from obtaining this better world. He does discuss these same constraints in Outliers, but hearing them out loud, punctuated by a fist in the air, turned them into a call to action and not “just” words on a page.

Okay. I’m gonna put a brake on things before I get to the constraints because I would like to explain what exactly we are being constrained from: an abundance of Social Capitalization. That missing abundance is what is keeping us from this mythical “better world” but…. What the hell does that even mean?!! Social Capitalization is the rate at which a given community takes advantage of its collective human potential. We are not taking advantage of ours.

To really understand the idea of capitalization, check out this article on Wikipedia. Yeah, it has to do with the accounting aspect of capitalization it but really helped me grasp the concept.

So. What is keeping us from an abundance of Social Capitalization? Gladwell says there are three things.

  1. The Poverty Constraint: In ways we cannot even begin to appreciate, poverty affects us more profoundly than you would ever think. No matter how intelligent you are, where you com from really matters. “Poverty trumps IQ” says Gladwell.
  2. The Stupidity Constraint: We think the way we have of doing things is perfect when in reality we are creating rules that get in the way of letting people realize their talents. Gladwell uses Hockey teams as an example to illustrate this constraint. “Isn’t Hockey a meritocracy? NO! We think we are choosing the best but we’re not! We’re choosing the biggest!” Hockey leagues are based on certain age cut offs. Those cut offs can mean a lot when you pit two little boys against each other…. one who was born on January 1 and the other born after Christmas.
  3. The Attitude Constraint: It is a proven fact that people from Asian countries score better on their math tests. Is this because they are smarter than Americans? No. James Flynn actually proved that Caucasians have a slightly higher IQ than Asians. What’s the deal then? Turns out we Americans are just lazier. Give us a math problem and we’ll give up after an average of two minutes while Asians will toil away forever.

We as a society need to throw the magic dust out the window. The issue in this country is NOT that we are by nature untalented. The issue is that we are squandering our talent. Outliers calls us to fix that.

**Two other things that have NOTHING to do with changing the world but are sort-of Malcolm related:

  1. David mashed this picture of Malcolm and Bob together and it is HILARIOUS.
  2. Malcolm Gladwell looks really great in skinny jeans.

Cheese served up by MagsMac

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  1. 23 Responses to “Gladwell Breaks it Down in H-Town: Where the Heck is the Magic Dust?!”

  2. I liked when he said, "Oh, Im not fancy."

    Made me feel better about sitting in a room full of stuffy business folk.

    By Brandi on Jan 21, 2009

  3. Hmmph. I wouldn't know.

    By Fayza on Jan 21, 2009

  4. Yeah that was pretty great. I love that guy :)

    By magsmac on Jan 21, 2009

  5. Great post! Going to re-read Tipping Point and read Blink and Outliers back to back. :)

    By Sean Stoner on Jan 21, 2009

  6. I LOVE LOVE LOVE his books. They always give me something new to think about and challenge me to be a better person.

    By magsmac on Jan 21, 2009

  7. Secret's out. I have an internet crush on MagsMac.

    And dang it, I guess I have to read the book now.

    By gwenbell on Jan 22, 2009

  8. Hey Love! I really think you will like it. It's all Gwen-y and peaceful ;)

    By magsmac on Jan 22, 2009

  9. Fantastic post. Fantastic book. Fantastic Man ;)

    @maslowbeer – I might re-read Tipping Point myself. It's been a while and I could use a refresher. Also on my re-read list: Sophie's World, Never Eat Alone, and Getting Things Done.

    By Erica on Jan 22, 2009

  10. I always thought that Malcolm looked like Leo Sayer, yes " You Make Me Feel Like Dancing!"

    By @katmandelstein on Jan 22, 2009

  11. As an Asian i would like to say all three constraints are right. My IQ ia above average I think, but like an American i really don't toil that much. I have learned to work smartly in a short period of time and gain a whole month's wage in a day.
    Generally you are right, but there are always guys who belong to the exception list.

    By Janice_Dimaano on Jan 22, 2009

  12. There are definitely exceptions to every rule. I hope to be one!

    By magsmac on Jan 22, 2009

  13. Great post and great job getting on the Chron! Happy Friday BIG Cheese!

    http://chron.com/news/opinion/

    By elegantmachines on Jan 23, 2009

  14. Awesome post! I'll now be picking up Outliers! Great job on discussing social capital, and how we actually restrict ourselves. :)

    By atwookie on Jan 23, 2009

  15. Maggie: As always, I enjoyed your post. I'm in the middle of the book and he's already touched on many of these concepts. As a kid who started school early (September birthday), I can relate to the subtle disadvantages of constantly playing catch-up in terms of physical and intellectual maturity due to the arbitrary date of when school starts. But it is worth noting (and maybe Gladwell does later in the book) that the REAL outliers overcome their circumstances and constraints. Using his hockey example, both Mario Lemieux — considered by many to be the best player Canada ever produced — was born on October 5th, which happens to be the same birthday (same year, too) as Patrick Roy, considered the best goalie that Canada ever produced. As the saying goes, the exceptions justify the rule, but it is important to note that the VERY BEST and MOST TALENTED really do rise above their circumstances and the obstacles that get in the way. Like I said, Gladwell may make this point later in the book, but it is critical to understand that individuals play a critically important role in determining their own course. We can choose to be stopped and redirected by obstacles, or we can be fueled by them and use them to our advantage.

    By Dan Keeney on Jan 23, 2009

  16. It is the exception PROVES the rule. My bad.

    By Dan Keeney on Jan 23, 2009

  17. Dan: as always, you leave really really great comments. I agree with you completely that individuals play an important role in determining their futures. I too am an early school starter (December!) and never made the Volleyball team because I was so tiny…. and afraid of the ball. On the other end of the spectrum, I loved to read so I never felt like I had to catch up intellectually with my peers. I don't know what the circumstances would have been like if I wasn't such a book lover or if I had been a little more passionate about sports.

    I'm really interested to hear your thoughts when you complete the book. And thank you so much for your Hockey stories. It is awesome to see that something the very best and most talented are able to rice above their circumstances.

    By magsmac on Jan 23, 2009

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