A few weeks ago, I was telling my husband about the fascinating opening chapter of this book over dinner. Here’s the deal. The Canadian professional hockey world is dominated by players with January, February, and March birthdays. As author Malcom Gladwell explains, the cut-off is January 1st for the kiddie hockey leagues. Therefore, December boys are competing with the much bigger January boys. Of course size alone doesn’t determine success. The bigger boys, most often born in the early months of the year, are chosen to play on the select teams and receive better coaching, play more games, and invest in more practice time. AND that’s the kicker. Time. 10,000 hours of time should you want to be an expert at something.
The next thing I knew, the book had disappeared from my nightstand.
Once I got the book back from M, I was more intrigued by the chapter on plane crashes being caused by mitigated speech. Gladwell includes transcripts of Colombian and Korean co-pilots who hinted at dire circumstances rather than risk disrespecting their captain with more direct language. This combined along with minor technical glitches, bad weather, and pilot fatigue causes more crashes than I realized. Interestingly, Korean Air has improved their safety record by implementing an English-only policy for their pilots.
While I was finishing the book, M was working on some figures. He’s concluded that he’s got around 352,800 hours left: 88,200 for sleep, 147,000 for work, 29,400 for eating, and 88,200 hours for husbandry, fathering, and becoming an expert in...well, something.
As M contemplates his 10,000 hours, we’re also considering “red-shirting” or holding back our children who have July and August birthdays. The concern is they won’t be as developmentally ready to learn the same math concepts as those older September babies. And as Outliers emphasizes, success is all about opportuntity. And hours. Hours of practice.
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"He that loves a book will never want a faithful friend, a wholesome counselor, a cheerful companion, an effectual comforter. By study, by reading, by thinking, one may innocently divert and pleasantly entertain himself, as in all weathers, as in all fortunes." -Barrow
Contents
Index
About the author
- morningstar
- When she's not caring for her husband and two children (and sometimes even when she is), she can be found reading "a novel."
5 comments:
I knew you were a college football fan. E definitely gets a redshirt. J would probably take it the wrong way.
I can't seem to get past that figure for sleep. 88,200 hours.
Little d is a Sept 6 baby, so she missed the cutoff by days. Meaning she will likely be the very oldest. So my concern centers around social interaction. But I've decided that part doesn't matter as much, the older she gets. And I am thankful I have her at home another year, selfishly.
I read Outliers cover-to-cover in two days flat. Was I the one that recommended it to you? Probably not -- it's everywhere. But anyway, having a July birthday myself -- maybe THAT's why I've always sucked at math!! My poor little just-turned-5 year old brain wasn't ready for those concepts. Nevermind that I was an excellent reader and speller. But imagine, I got into a pretty good college as it was. But if I had started school one year later -- maybe I'd have gone to Hahvahd or somethin'!
And totally -- to bring it back to Outliers -- the chapter about the Korean Airlines pilots who were so culturally indoctrinated not to criticize their superiors... It was chilling. Per our year in Japan, M-star, I can totally imagine that, though -- can't you? Sad. (On the flip side, many American kids could stand to learn some respect for their elders and such, so it's not a totally bad concept, except when taken to an extreme.)
I can't stop talking about this book, whenever a subject arises that merits its mention. All of Gladwell's books to date, in my opinion, are well worth the read.
A: I'd have to agree this book is everywhere. They referenced it on an episode of the Brit sitcom Green Wing we watched the other night.
M:Matt was much more taken with the number of hours for work but I explained sleep was a mom-thing.
M: E is going to be a bruiser!
I have been mocked mercilessly for requesting September/October births by A. I'm feeling vindicated by Outliers. But as I'm learning, being right isn't always the most important thing.
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