Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

[Taq Man]

Very interesting book about the intangibles that lead to success.

I kept wondering what the take home message was supposed to be. Not much you can really do with the info but it was an interesting read none the less.

[hostile]

I've read his two earlier books, The Tipping Point and Blink, and enjoyed both of them. I'm looking forward to reading Outliers.

[old_gregg]

gladwell is a smart guy, but i think some of his conclusions have tenuous relationships with the data (ie lots of contextualization issues, some correlation/causation assumptions)

[Tim]

I'm halfway through it and enjoying it. I got a little tired of The Tipping Point by the end of the book, though, so I hope the same thing doesn't happen to me with this one.

[LiveCoug]

I finished Outliers a couple weeks ago. He is an interesting writer. I do think he might rely on correlation and not causation, but fascinating stuff nonetheless.

[Donuthole]

I kept wondering what the take home message was supposed to be. Not much you can really do with the info but it was an interesting read none the less.

On one hand he's saying that anyone can be an Outlier, but he contradicts that by concluding that most successful people are the ones who work hard and catch some lucky breaks.

It kind of reminds me of the Ratatouille message "Anyone can cook." Does it mean that anybody can learn to be a great chef, or does it mean that a great chef can come from anywhere? Gladwell seems to conclude the latter, while trying to claim the former as well.