Outliers

I just finished reading this book for one of my book clubs. I highly recommend it. I found it extremely interesting and insightful. I don't usually go for non-fiction but I found myself completely sucked in to this book. It really made me think a lot.

 

Here's a review/overview from Amazon.com

Amazon Best of the Month, November 2008: Now that he's gotten us talking about the viral life of ideas and the power of gut reactions, Malcolm Gladwell poses a more provocative question in Outliers: why do some people succeed, living remarkably productive and impactful lives, while so many more never reach their potential? Challenging our cherished belief of the "self-made man," he makes the democratic assertion that superstars don't arise out of nowhere, propelled by genius and talent: "they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot." Examining the lives of outliers from Mozart to Bill Gates, he builds a convincing case for how successful people rise on a tide of advantages, "some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky."

Outliers can be enjoyed for its bits of trivia, like why most pro hockey players were born in January, how many hours of practice it takes to master a skill, why the descendents of Jewish immigrant garment workers became the most powerful lawyers in New York, how a pilots' culture impacts their crash record, how a centuries-old culture of rice farming helps Asian kids master math. But there's more to it than that. Throughout all of these examples--and in more that delve into the social benefits of lighter skin color, and the reasons for school achievement gaps--Gladwell invites conversations about the complex ways privilege manifests in our culture. He leaves us pondering the gifts of our own history, and how the world could benefit if more of our kids were granted the opportunities to fulfill their remarkable potential. --Mari Malcolm

I'll leave it at that...

"Moon"

We rented a movie called "Moon" at the Redbox the other day and watched it on Clearplay. It ended up being one of those weird but interesting movies. Basically, there is one actor and he lives on the moon for a 3 year period because mankind had discovered an amazing energy source up there. He lives there and maintains the equipment because it is a one man job. He has a computer who helps him and talks to him and the voice is Kevin Spacey. It's fun because you don't know which direction the movie is going to go in, and it ends up surprising you and then making you think "how would I react in that situation?". I'm not saying it's the best movie ever, but it's $1 and a fun date night in. I don't want to say more in case I ruin it, but I enjoyed my $1 date night :)