Outliers

Researchers in sociology refer to “accumulative advantage” as advantages that build up over time. Gladwell uses this term in Chapter 1 while discussing the selection process for programs like the youth hockey league in Canada. Usually, players are chosen to participate based on a slight advantage conferred by being older: The child is just further along developmentally than younger players at that point. Once in the program, special training and lots of practice improve these players’ skills, increasing the gap between them and other players. This gives them greater opportunities, which lead to more advantages, and so on. 

In Chapter 4, Gladwell discusses the life of Chris Langan, the man with an exceptionally high IQ, trying to show why intelligence alone does not automatically lead to success. Langan’s family background was problematic, and he lacked many of the support systems necessary for a child to become well-adjusted in society. Gladwell then presents the research of Annette Lareau, who followed the lives of children from various backgrounds. Middle-class families with a higher socioeconomic status imparted to their children the skills needed to navigate society. She called this parenting style “concerted cultivation,” in which parents coach their children about how to act and what to say in different situations, especially with those in authority. 

As explained in Chapter 3, a convergence test requires reviewing a list of options and “converging” on the correct one. Most tests are like this, including anything with a multiple-choice format as well as Raven’s tests, in which one must discover a visual pattern to select the missing image. See also “Divergence Test” below.

As discussed in Chapter 6, a culture of honor is one in which people are aggressive and “willing to fight in response to even the slightest challenge to [their] reputation” (167). Gladwell uses this term to demonstrate how strongly culture influences behavior. The Southern states in America still have a strong culture of honor today, a remnant of settlers from generations ago, many of whom came from the borderland areas of Great Britain. 

A demographic trough is a period in which a lower birthrate occurs. Gladwell mentions this in Chapter 5, in the context of the Great Depression. The severe economic crisis of the 1930s led to a demographic trough in the US. Gladwell examines this in terms of being in the right place at the right time for maximum opportunity, thus acquiring a greater chance for success. It comes down to simple supply and demand, affecting a certain cohort of people who graduated from college at the end of the Depression. World War II came next, which did not constrain nascent careers if someone served, as it did for those slightly older who served. Afterward, they found many economic opportunities in the boom that followed the war, as more goods and services were needed for the larger population that followed the demographic trough.

Gladwell discusses this test in Chapter 3, along with convergence tests (see above). Of the two, divergence tests are less common and ask the test taker to expand on an idea—that is, “to use your imagination and take your mind in as many different directions as possible” (86-87). The key here is not to find one right answer but to produce a greater number of and more unique answers than others. Gladwell uses this to show that intelligence in terms of mere knowledge (measured by IQ tests) is significant only to a certain point. After that, creativity (which can be measured by divergence tests) can be more useful and lead to greater results. 

This term comes from the work of Geert Hofstede, a Dutch psychologist who worked for IBM in the 1960s and 1970s. His research involved how people worked together and responded to authority. His data in various areas became known as “Hofstede’s Dimensions” and identified cultural differences in aspects of behavior. Gladwell refers to this in Chapter 7, where he discusses factors leading to plane crashes. One of the dimensions Hofstede identified was the “Power Distance Index,” or PDI. This measures a person’s deference to authority. Gladwell’s argument is that cultures scoring high on this index, like South Korea and Colombia, have a greater incidence of plane crashes because the crew members defer too much to the captain when they spot an error that the captain misses. 

Chapter 1 uses this as a title, and it refers to Matthew 25:29 in the Bible: “For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance. But from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.” In this chapter, Gladwell examines the Junior Hockey League in Canada and shows that the most successful players are born in the early months of any given year. This is because when a cutoff date comes around for each cohort, these players are slightly older and thus slightly more advanced developmentally. In young children, this can make a big difference. Once they are chosen for the program, the intense training they receive only confers on them greater advantages, further widening the gap between them and their slightly younger peers. Instead of competition based on innate talent and hard work, Gladwell says, it’s merely an exercise in choosing players based on their birth date. This series of cumulative advantages is called the Matthew Effect. 

Mitigated speech is “any attempt to downplay or sugarcoat the meaning of what is being said” (194). Gladwell introduces this in Chapter 7, discussing its role in plane crashes. The 1990 crash of a Colombian plane near Kennedy Airport was a classic case of when mitigated speech led to miscommunication: The Colombian first officer thought he was being clear in terms of the plane’s dire situation, but the Americans in the control tower heard no urgency in what he said because, in their interpretation, his speech was mitigated. 

Gladwell uses this term in Chapter 4 when comparing Chris Langan and J. Robert Oppenheimer. The latter got himself out of difficult situations and into important areas he was not particularly qualified for because he had practical intelligence. One researcher defines this as “knowing what to say to whom, knowing when to say it, and knowing how to say it for maximum effect” (101). Practical intelligence is knowing how to do something or how to get others to do something for you. Lacking this, Chris Langan did not get far in life despite having an IQ higher than virtually anyone else.