The position/status/attitudes of one’s parents figure heavily as a factor in some folks success and this point is illustrated several times in Outliers.

S.

Blink was really good and it fits in with work on training one’s mind to react usefully, which is where my brother really earns his money. So, we both liked it even thogh it was a slow read.

Tiping Point is my favourite – learn about viral marketing here!

Outliers has the feel of, “Come Malcolm, we need another best seller,” and there is little in it that can’t be found elswhere. That said, Outliers brings a lot together into one book and is a much, much better read than the ‘elsewhere’ option.

The ice hockey thing – those responsible for educating and coaching our children would do well to understand it as it could be changed.

S.

And I didn’t touch upon the 10,000 hour theory here, but you’re absolutey right that it’s fascinating stuff. Likewise the fact that all ice hockey players tend to be born in the first few months of the year.

Also, the stuff about what time of year one is born and how that fits into the various teaching/coaching cycles was really interesting because this is something we could change. We could easily double the pool of available talent just by staggering selection according to age rather than academic year. Maybe we could even get a decent football team!

veggiedude – when you read the book you find that all of these successful folk have a whole bunch lucky moments – who their parents are, where they live (particularly for Bill Gates ‘cos he had to walk to the lab – I think it was BG – one of them anyway), and the issue of when these lucky moments occur seems to be staggeringly important.

A useful if somewhat boring read, it is highly recomended for anyone trying to figure out “How did they do so well?”. Especially if you are a parent wanting to give your kids a simple extra start.

S.