TOW #21 IRB

Malcom Gladwell's Outliers uses many statistics, allowing for a very convincing argument in that Success is reached through opportunity. He constantly utilizes charts and clearly explains the significance of them throughout his book. Whether he is showing the correlation of Hockey Players' birthdays or why Asian countries are good at math, Gladwell never fails to back up his statements. He uses many cases of anecdotal evidence in order to prove real life applications of his research as well. He backs up his claims through not only theory and cold numbers, but he also shows how this data can be used; what does it actually entail for people, rather than statisticians. Gladwell also uses the repetition of ideas and concepts very often. Malcom's argument is cumulative. It lacks the ability to have its points stand individually for his purpose. The fact Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were born in the same year means very little to overall idea of success that Gladwell is attempting to paint. However, the ethnic theory of plane crashes, combined with KIPP schools and the story of Christopher Langan all build onto each other. A seemingly helter-skeltered mess of somewhat impressive results would analytically mean nothing. But with each idea, Gladwell constantly connects new ideas with the old, slowly narrowing the idea he wishes his reader to achieve. Gladwell is blunt in his explanation and subtle in his message, making his conclusion all the more convincing. He makes sure every individual example is explained as clearly as possible so the reader can come to their own conclusion. Gladwell's Show-Don't-Tell approach to writing has the reader led to his message, rather than spoon-fed an answer to a question. Just as the story of Renee in Gladwell's book shows the importance of coming to your own conclusions, Gladwell does nothing but water that idea into tree. A tree titled, Outliers: The Story of Success.