`Outliers' by Malcolm Gladwell is the first book that I have eagerly anticipated pre-release much like I looked forward to The Lord of the Rings movies knowing in advance they would come out. I even managed to get it on the first day that it was available in SA.
It got mixed reviews and I am aware that there is the risk of seeing Gladwell as some sort of super hero intellectual just because he tells a good story. But he does just that. It is quite funny actually, having listened to and watched many clips of him speaking, it was like the `voice in my head' when I was reading this book was his. Largely because he writes as he speaks.
There are a number of powerful ideas in this book. It falls into the category of attempts to explain I wrote about in my previous post. But I think if you tell lots of stories trying to explain things, many will be plausible, and as long as you don't attach too much value to each possible story... it helps you understand the world a little better.
Taleb's warning is just don't think you understand even if you think you understand.
I am sure `Outliers' will lead to many more posts.
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