We cling to the idea that success is a simple function of individual merit and that the world in which we all grow up and the rules we choose to write as a society don't matter at all.
Malcolm GladwellWhat a gifted child is, in many ways, is a gifted learner. And what a gifted adult is, is a gifted doer. And those are quite separate domains of achievement.
Malcolm GladwellI don't think people are averse to thinking about things in a deep way, but we have limited time and opportunity to think about things in a deep way. I think that's why there is an appetite for non-fiction - it gives people the opportunity to reexamine ordinary experience and be smarter about it.
Malcolm GladwellIt is those who are successful, in other words, who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success.
Malcolm GladwellScience fiction annoyed me because it was like, "Why is the world as it is not enough for you?"
Malcolm GladwellDo you see the consequences of the way we have chosen to think about success? Because we so profoundly personalize success, we miss opportunities to lift others onto the top rung...We are too much in awe of those who succeed and far too dismissive of those who fail. And most of all, we become much too passive. We overlook just how large a role we all playโand by โweโ I mean societyโin determining who makes it and who doesnโt.
Malcolm Gladwell