How The Influence Of Success In Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers

In the novel Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell gave a well put together read that gives us much to think about when trying to define success and what factors are important in shaping whether a person becomes successful or not. Prior to reading Gladwell’s Outliers my views probably were like most that success usually comes from one’s hard work and genius and that we all have an equal chance for success, but after reading Gladwell’s theories and explanations on how many outside factors can influence success, I now have some different conclusions about intelligence and how outside factors such as socioeconomic background and the way we are raised are also important influences of who and what we become and not just simply how high ones IQ or intelligence is measured. Malcolm Gladwell’s The Outliers chapter three and four, The Trouble with Genius Part 2, explains how where we come from and how we are raised influence our success and even those with similar above average IQ’s may not have the same opportunity for success because of these factors.

Even though a high IQ may set us apart as an outlier, because of our economic background we may not have the same opportunities as someone with the same IQ. Gladwell explains this by using Terman’s study in which Terman tested a random

In The Outliers, Gladwell explains that we are usually “born with analytical intelligence but we also need practical intelligence to be successful” (Gladwell,101). So, we can be born super intelligent but if we do not have the practical intelligence to be able to socialize. Gladwell explains this as “social savvy is knowledge. It's a set of skills that have