I've read all three of Gladwell's books...just finished Outliers and was about to send a private message to Stephen Black that this is a "don't miss it." In the review Michael Palij posted, there seemed to be a bit of that old Shakespearean, "the [man] doth protest too much, methinks," but maybe that's just my interpretation. All three of the books are fun reads. They're thought-provoking and, IMHO, ring true as generalities (many generalities I'd never considered, which is what makes the books such interesting reads), but I don't think he tries to replace heavy scientific writing. He does his homework, and if he does occasionally seem to jump to conclusions that "a whole lot of correlation must make a causation," he still does find a whole lot of correlations, and I still plan to use the example in my developmental class from Outliers (I posted it a couple of weeks ago), of early-in-the-year birth dates of Canadian hockey players having a high correlation to their success. I think it will get students thinking, and that's always desirable. It will be a good exercise in critical thinking if they can come up with alternative theories.
I recommend Gladwell's books for entertaining reading that also encourages critical thinking. They won't replace your favorite peer-reviewed journal when it comes to academic strength, but they may keep you awake at night because they're hard to put down. (Bet those peer-reviewed journals don't often do that!) Can't help it, I'm a fan. That said, I'm going to watch his TED talk now. (I'm addicted to them (http://www.ted.com/), and may finish watching all of the TED talks within the next year [described in a NYTimes article on Friday by a fellow addict - http://themedium.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/in-the-magazine-confessions-of-a-ted-addict/]<http://themedium.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/in-the-magazine-confessions-of-a-ted-addict/> - another plug for things that can pique your interest in unusual things). Gladwell's is about spaghetti sauce: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/malcolm_gladwell_on_spaghetti_sauce.html <http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/malcolm_gladwell_on_spaghetti_sauce.html>Shows you his diversity. And I was thrilled that he pointed out the strengths of the KIPP program ( http://www.kipp.org/) <http://www.kipp.org/>, which I've been touting for a while and here's the original New York Times Magazine article that first introduced it: http://www.kipp.org/08/pressdetail.cfm?a=291 <http://www.kipp.org/08/pressdetail.cfm?a=291>This seems to me to be "Applied Psychology" at its best. Hmmm, lots of links here...I swear TIPS isn't my blog site... Beth Benoit Granite State College Plymouth State University New Hampshire On Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 12:28 PM, Michael Palij <[email protected]> wrote: > There is an interesting (at least I thought so) review of Gladwell's > "Outliers" book in the current issue of the New Republic which > can be accessed at: > > > http://www.tnr.com/booksarts/story.html?id=66135ae4-d551-43d6-85aa-b80ddc3e281a&p=1 > > I am aware of Gladwell's popularity but I haven't read any of > his books (i.e., "The Tipping Point", "Blink"). I have read a > couple of his New Yorker pieces which left me unimpressed. > Apparently I'm not the only one as Isaac Chotiner points out > in his review some of the problems with Gladwell's style of > presenting info and manner of argument. > > Didn't one of the major psych organizations (APA, APS) have > Gladwell as a speaker at one of their conventions? Anyone > attend? What was the reaction? > > -Mike Palij > New York University > [email protected] > > P.S. On a tangential note, I recommend the PBS "American > Experience" on J. Robert Oppenheimer whom Gladwell examines > in "Outliers". Does anyone remember a play entitled "In > Particular Men", I believe starring Stacy Keach, which was > also shown on PBS possibly in the 1970s? It was a dramatic > presentation of Oppenheimer's life, issues, and tragedy. > > > > > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly ([email protected]) > -- "We will not learn how to live in peace by killing each other's children." - Jimmy Carter "Are our children more precious than theirs?" --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
