Spark of Genius
Hey explorers and curious minds! Have you ever puzzled over the question about geniuses? Reading their biographies, watching their interviews, and trying to figure out where their outstanding abilities come from? If so, the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is definitely worth your precious time.?
Many studies have been done to shed some light on this mysterious subject. What is it? Just a blind luck, a combination of talent and efforts taken or some predetermined fact that would happen no matter what? Or an experiment orchestrated by aliens to put obidient smart cookies in the right spots and serve their dark agenda? One thing is clear - it’s not an accident. Like the fact you’re reading this article. :)
Malcolm Gladwell has done a brilliant job sketching parallels between such different fields as music, sport, science, business, programming, jurisprudence, and more to distill some patterns that pop up every time you deal with a genius. And the more you read the clearer you comprehend that there’s not even a hint of randomness here.?
You will find out that it’s not only about a gift of talent the one inherits from his parents. To a large extent it’s about the environment they were lucky to be born and grow up in. Nowadays it’s on the surface that having a certain language as your native gives you way more opportunities in life and career. But what if I told you that having one particular language as your native can ensure a natural advantage that will allow you to be good at math??
And how about your birth date? Aside from an emotional component attached, usually we don’t really pay attention to that and think of it as some random number that means almost nothing and doesn’t really make a difference. But can you imagine that being born in January gives you much more chances to succeed in various sports in many countries?
It feels counterintuitive, but this book is not about people. In this game of conquered summits and mind blowing achievements there are things that sometimes drive even more interest than people who essentially produce all these results. This book is much more about the surroundings, about all the circumstances that forge geniuses.
We’re used to thinking about people’s achievements separately, without regard to the world they live in. What the author is doing here is he is trying to reflect on the environments that shape people. You would be really surprised if you knew that this matters way more than a set of characteristics a person was born with. Its contribution to the end results the ones achieve is far more important and much deeper than we tend to assume.
And last but not the least, don’t forget about the famous 10000 hours rule. Is this rule really applicable here? And if so, how does it fit into the equation? What is its place in the chain of events that create geniuses? Well, give it a try and find out.
By the way, you might also have a very personal reason to read the book. This will definitely help you to find crucial factors that produce the ones we have the pleasure of calling geniuses, identify the field where you can shine and make the biggest impact. So, turn the first page if you want to count your personal odds in this alluring game.?
#book #reading #insights #genius #inspiration