The Roseto Mystery
What unusual health pattern did researchers discover among the people of Roseto, Pennsylvania?
They had unusually low rates of heart disease.
What is the name Gladwell gives to the process in which an early advantage can lead to additional advantages?
The Matthew Effect.
According to the idea Gladwell presents in Chapter 2, approximately how many hours of practice are associated with becoming an expert?
10,000 hours.
What quality does Gladwell question as a reliable predictor of extraordinary success in this chapter?
Extremely high intelligence/IQ.
What kind of intelligence does Gladwell argue Chris Langan lacks despite his extraordinary IQ?
Practical intelligence.
What profession did Joe Flom enter?
Law / he became a lawyer.
What did researchers first suspect might explain the good health of the people of Roseto?
Their diet, exercise, genetics, or environment.
In Canadian youth hockey, what date is especially important in Gladwell’s explanation of who receives an early advantage?
January 1, the age-group cutoff date.
What famous band accumulated an extraordinary number of performance hours while playing long sets in Hamburg, Germany?
The Beatles.
What was the name commonly given to the group of highly intelligent children studied by Lewis Terman?
The Termites.
Which famous scientist does Gladwell compare with Chris Langan to show that intelligence alone does not determine what someone accomplishes?
Robert Oppenheimer.
Why did elite New York law firms initially exclude lawyers like Joe Flom?
Discrimination, particularly against Jewish lawyers, kept them out of many prestigious firms.
What did researchers eventually conclude was protecting the people of Roseto?
Their close-knit community and social relationships/culture.
Why are players born early in the year more likely to receive additional opportunities in Canadian youth hockey?
They tend to be older/larger/more physically mature within their age group and are more likely to be identified as talented.
What unusual opportunity allowed Bill Joy to spend enormous amounts of time learning computer programming?
He had unusual access to a computer/time-sharing system at the University of Michigan that allowed extensive programming time.
According to Gladwell, after roughly what IQ level does additional IQ become much less useful in predicting success?
Around 120.
What does Gladwell mean by practical intelligence?
Knowing what to say, to whom, when to say it, and how to use social situations/institutions to get what you need.
What type of legal work did Flom and other Jewish lawyers take on partly because elite firms considered it undesirable?
Litigation and especially corporate takeovers/proxy fights.
Why was Roseto important enough for Gladwell to use it to begin Outliers?
It demonstrates that outcomes can be shaped by circumstances surrounding people, not simply by individual choices or traits.
Once young hockey players are identified as talented, name TWO advantages they may receive that help increase the original difference.
Examples include better coaching, more practice, more playing time, stronger teammates, elite teams, tournaments, etc.
Why are the Beatles and Bill Joy important to Gladwell’s argument beyond simply showing that successful people practice a lot?
Both received unusual opportunities that allowed them to accumulate enormous amounts of practice.
What is the difference between a convergence test and a divergence test?
A convergence test looks for one correct answer; a divergence test measures the ability to generate many different or creative possibilities.
What parenting style does Gladwell, drawing on Annette Lareau, associate with children learning to question adults and negotiate institutions?
Concerted cultivation.
How did work that once seemed undesirable eventually become an advantage for Flom?
Corporate litigation and takeovers later became extremely valuable, and Flom already had years of experience doing that work.
What assumption about success does “The Roseto Mystery” prepare Gladwell to challenge throughout Outliers?
That individual outcomes can be explained mainly by the individual; Gladwell wants us to examine environment, culture, opportunity, and other outside factors.
Explain the chain reaction Gladwell sees in the hockey example.
A small initial advantage leads to selection → selection provides better opportunities/practice → skills improve → those improved skills create still more opportunities.
Why would the statement “Anybody can become successful if they just practice enough” be an oversimplification of Gladwell’s Chapter 2 argument?
Because people do not have equal access to the time, resources, circumstances, and opportunities necessary to accumulate that amount of meaningful practice.
What happened to Terman’s expectation that his extremely intelligent children would grow up to become an extraordinary group of world-changing adults?
Their adult accomplishments varied considerably; extraordinary IQ alone did not guarantee extraordinary achievement.
Both Langan and Oppenheimer were extraordinarily intelligent. Why did their lives turn out so differently according to Gladwell?
Oppenheimer had the social skills/background and practical intelligence to navigate institutions and authority, while Langan struggled to negotiate those systems despite his intellectual ability.
Why does Gladwell consider the time period in which someone is born an important part of Joe Flom’s success story?
Flom belonged to a relatively small generation born during the demographic trough of the 1930s, which eventually gave his generation advantages in education and professional opportunities.