Outliers

by Malcolm Gladwell

This book surprised me. I think I had some idea that it would tell us about certain outliers and why they became outliers, but the reasons were completely different from what I had expected. I thought outliers were formed because people had an extraordinary ability or talent, but what Gladwell is saying is that Outliers are often ordinary people or situations that, through a series of lucky coincidences, become extraordinary. Often the only additional attribute they have is that they are willing to work hard. What matters much more than our individual personality is our family and cultural background: when we were born, who our parents are, what country and community we were raised in.

One of my immediate thoughts was how easy it would be for people to point to this book and say, "Aha! That's why I wasn't successful-- I wasn't lucky enough to be born in the right circumstances!" But Gladwell wants us to use this information to improve our lives. If we understand where and who we came from, and look at the forces on our thinking and decision-making, we can take more control of our lives. Most mistakes are made by not understanding the source of a problem, and Gladwell is pointing out the source of problems or advantages. For example, I am wired to desire security and a nice house and plenty of money for a nice comfortable lifestyle in exchange for some kind of career chosen for its salary, because that is what most of the families and adults I know cultivate. I always thought that this lifestyle was the "right" one. However, once someone pointed that out to me and I began reading about and exploring all the different ways people live, I realized that I wanted to do something else. I still have times when I feel that what I'm doing is wrong and worthless, but knowing that these feelings come from my background help me work through them.

The other main idea that this book impressed upon me was the 10,000 hour rule, the idea that to become an expert on something requires about 10,000 hours of practice. That's equivalent to a 40-hr/wk job for 5 years. Ray and I calculated up the hours I have spent doing ceramics, and came to only about 1,000 hours. No wonder I feel like an amateur! I have been expecting myself to do great and fantastic things, when I have only accomplished 10% of the practice I need. Also, with ceramics encompassing so many completely different skills (throwing, handbuilding, glaze and clay chemistry and mixing and testing, firing the different types of kilns, tons of decorative materials and techniques, and running a business, to name a few), I probably need about twice the normal amount of hours to become an expert. So I have been expecting far too much of my skills, which has led to frustration at my lack of wonderfulness, which has made me less likely to practice. What I need to do is get back to basics and simply keep doing it and not expecting world-class art for another 5 years. What a relief!