Summary
Vivek Ranadivé- An Idian Immigrant, Vivek Ranadivé knew practically nothing about the style of American basketball. When he decided to coach his daughter's team during middle school, he quickly realized that the girls lacked skill in nearly every aspect of the game. In order to give them a chance in every game they played, Ranadivé implemented a full court press. Not for just the second half or end of the game, for the entire game. The girls trained to improve their endurance beyond that of their competitors, and, as cliché as it may be, were taught to always have a good attitude. This positive attitude and relentless press brought them to one of the top teams in the nation. Participating in the 7th and 8th grade national tournament, the girls from Redwood City angered other coaches who thought they were not playing the game as it was supposed to be played. But Vivek could care less what the other coaches thought, he used the girls' disadvantages and transformed them into distinct advantages.
Teresa DeBrito- During her tenure as principal of Shepaug Valley Middle School in Connecticut, Teresa DeBrito has seen class sizes continually decrease. A great thing for the education of the students, right? Smaller class sizes must mean more one-on-one teaching, more opportunities, and an overall better learning environment. These commonly accepted ideas, which have changed the shape of American education, remain in question. Even though the entire nation has placed priority on hiring more teachers to decrease class sizes, a study of 18 of the most prominent nations in the world detected that, in nearly every country, the benefits of decreasing class size are ambiguous. Gladwell connects this concept to that of parent wealth. He interviews an immigrant who grew up poor in Minneapolis, working extremely hard to make any money he could. Now a multimillionaire in Hollywood, this man struggles with how to instill the same hard-working values in his own children. He cannot use excuses like "we don't have the money" like his parents did, because it is not to hard for teenage kids to realize what kind of money they truly do have. Gladwell connects these two concepts with one of the most important theories in the book: The Inverted U-Curve. He argues that decreasing class size only benefits the students to a certain point before ultimately hurting in the end. In conjunction, parent wealth only helps with parenting until it eclipses a median $75,000/yr. This topic is further discussed in the topics section.
Caroline Sacks- In the late 19th century, the annual art display at the prestigious Salon in Paris was the most coveted art show in the world. Artists would submit their work and an elite group voted on which select few made the final cut to be put on display. The paintings had to be perfect, every detail following traditional work. Disappointed by the lack of advancement and freedom to express their feelings, a new group, called the Impressionists, formed. Their style, which contrasted the traditional Salon art in nearly every way, was not allowed at the Salon. Instead of quitting, they formed their own art display, which quickly gained popularity. Today, they are credited with recreating the brilliance of the art world. So how does the selectivity of the Salon in Paris connect to Caroline Sacks(fake name)? A brilliant student accepted and enrolled to Brown University, Caroline Sacks could not wait to attend an Ivy League school of her dreams. She loved science, but had numerous interests in other areas of study. Her academic achievements in high school were extensive, obtaining a perfect GPA and perfect test scores on each of her Advanced Placement Exams. She expected Brown to continue her curiosity and intellectual interests all while providing her with one of the greatest educations in the world. But what she experienced was far from that. Because everyone around her was just as smart or smarter, she struggled to feel confident in her abilities academically. She got the first C's of her life, and lost all interest in the school. She quickly realized, just as the Impressionists did, that the prestige of Brown, or the Salon, was also what made them troublesome. This is where Gladwell introduces the Small Fish in a Big Pond concept, which is further discussed in the topics section.
David Boies- Struggling from dyslexia from a young age, David Boies' expectations were low. His inability to read with efficiency brought many troubles throughout his childhood and school years. Even though he still struggles from reading as an adult, he has turned this inability into a desirable difficulty. He has become one of the most feared lawyers in the nation, winning huge cases such as Hollingsworth v. Schwarzenegger which deemed gay marriage bans unconstitutional. Similar to Boies, Ingvar Kamprad, who revolutionized the sale of furniture through IKEA, is dyslexic. Instead of worrying about becoming good readers, listeners, learners, and all the other skills that are required of a typical person, these extraordinary innovators created their own ways of becoming successful by taking risks and going outside the social norm. When Swedish manufacturers boycotted IKEA due to their low prices, Kamprad outsourced his production to Poland...in the heat of the Cold War. Such a bold yet challenging move, Kamprad made it work. Gladwell compares his incredulous move to "Walmart setting up shop in North Korea" today. Kamprad and Boies are not alone in their successes as dyslexics, however. A recent study by Julie Logan at City University London estimated that nearly 1/3 of successful innovators of the past few decades are dyslexic! Some of the most successful include: Charles Schwab, founder of discount brokerage company named after himself, David Neelman, founder of JetBlue, and John Chambers, CEO of technology giant Cisco. After revealing the success of so many business leaders, Gladwell poses the same question as he did at the beginning of the chapter: would you wish dyslexia upon your child?
Jay Freireich- In this chapter, Gladwell introduces another desirable difficulty: losing a parent at an early age. An early 1960's study by psychologist Marvin Eisenstadt, revealed that, of the 573 eminent people (people who had more than one article about them in the Encyclopedia Britannica) he found information on, 25% of them had lost a parent before the age of ten. By age fifteen, 34.5% were without at least one parent, and by twenty, 45%. 12 of our nation's 44 presidents lost their fathers while they were still young, including Barack Obama. Once again these struggles have produced extraordinarily successful citizens. Jay Freireich, a poor Illinois boy who grew up without a father, is now one of the most renowned cancer doctors in history. Assigned to the children's leukemia ward at the National Cancer Institute, Jay walked into bloodshed. When he arrived, "90 percent of the kids would be dead in six weeks" he explains. He introduce methods such as platelet transfusions and drug cocktails, mixing multiple intense cancer drugs in one. Along with colleague Thomas Frie, Freireich persistently tried new methods, much to the dismay of his bosses and Congress itself. All of his other coworkers and advisers wanted nothing to do with his trials, and mocked his stubborn behavior. But he started getting results. His final step, although the most controversial, ultimately turned children's leukemia into a very manageable disease. A previously foreign idea, Freireich suggested repeated chemotherapy treatments, every month for a year, rather than just one. By 1965, Freireich and Frie published "Progress and Perspectives in the Chemotherapy of Acute Leukemia" announcing their successful treatment of childhood leukemia. Today the cure rate is greater than 90%.
Wyatt Walker- Often overshadowed by the fame of MLK Jr., Wyatt walker may have been equally important in the Civil Rights Movement. Serving as King's partner in crime, or peace, Walker took a business-like approach to the movement rather than complete peace. His tactics were slick, intellectual, controversial, and overall successful. "At times I would accommodate or alter my morality for the sake of getting a job done because I was the guy having to deal with the results" Walker claimed. He was the one who handled the issues and business of MLK's plans. Yet, Walker had plenty of his own plans. He organized sit-ins, protests, confrontations, and numerous other civil rights events. Perhaps his most disputed was his call for schoolchildren to skip school and march through the city, with the ultimate goal of filling the jails. Walker faced opposition from King, Malcolm X, along with white police. Compared to Brer Rabbit, Walker relied on tricking the opposition to see results. The greatest of his "successes" came in the form of a picture, which illustrated a K9 dog biting an innocent teenage black boy. Published in nearly every national newspaper, this picture gave the country a semi-false sense of the racial divide in the South and in turn produced the first of many efforts in Congress to change the laws. Walker's sly tricks and business-like approach were instrumental in the implementation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Rosemary Lawlor- Newly married and living in Northern Ireland, Rosemary Lawlor and her husband were strong Catholics. Unfortunately, during the late 1960's and early 1970's, their religion was a minority to a majority of protestants. The distinct divide between beliefs in the region sparked conflict to the point of riots, fights, and killings. The British Army decided to put a quick end to the conflict, or so they thought. They invaded and started using powerful tactics to "calm" the violence. Predictably, the violence only multiplied. Gladwell then introduces the principle of legitimacy, a three part theory on the legitimacy of power. First people who obey authority have to feel like they have a voice. Second, the law has to be predictable. And finally, authority must be fair. The British Army disallowed the people of Northern Ireland to have a voice, they changed tactics by the day, and they favored protestants. By 1972, things were so bad that in that year alone there were 1,495 shootings, 531 armed robberies, 1,931 bombings, and 497 people killed. In contrast to this abuse of power, the police force in Brownsville, New York has dealt with rampant teenage robbery in a different way. They developed the Juvenile Robbery Intervention Program, encouraging teens to get back to school and stay out of trouble. Additionally, Joanne Jaffe, head of the Housing Bureau, delivers hundreds of turkeys on Thanksgiving to residents in the poorest parts of the city. By reaching out and gaining respect rather than fear of authority, Brownsville has seen robberies decrease by over 100% in 5 years and even greater decreases in teen arrests. Power is only legitimate when working in the right ways.
Wilma Derksen- In June of 1992, Mike Reynold's daughter Kimber was murdered ousitde a cafe in California by two men who had numerous previous run-ins with the law. Devastated and determined to make an impact, Mike proposed a law that severely punished repeat offenders, now known as the Three Strikes Law. Anyone convicted of a second harsh offense would serve double time, and anyone with a third serious criminal offense would be sentenced to 25 years to life, no exceptions. This law passed with ease in California and around the nation, however its effects have caused just as many problems. Jails are filled, people who commit crimes as simple as stealing food are sentenced to 25 years, and the costs are astounding. In a similar case, Wilma Derksen's daughter Candace was kidnapped, tortured, and killed in 1987. However, Wilma wanted to know why the person who killed her daughter lacked love in his life. She wanted to forgive. Her religion had taught her to be merciful in even the toughest times. 20 years after her daughter's death, the killer was finally brought to justice. Wilma dedicated her life to helping others forgive and learning to live through loving. As Gladwell concludes, "A man who employs the full power of the state in his grief ends up plunging his government into a fruitless and costly experiment. A woman who walks away from the promise of power finds the strength to forgive-- and save her friendship, her marriage, and her sanity. The world is turned upside down."
André Trocmé- "A violent man conquered by God", Andre Trocme was responsible for taking in and saving hundreds of Jews during the reign of Hitler. He fearlessly allowed the refugees into his home, never questioning their needs or reasons. Rather than secretly helping them, like many others did, Trocme publically announced his support of the Jewish refugees. Unafriad and willing to give his life for the equality of others, Trocme stayed true to himself and all the people he had promised to help. The government could have easily executed him as an example, but as Gladwell suggests, only another Andre Trocme would rise up stronger. His leadership and fearless determination to hinder the extermination of the innocent Jews was inspiring to not only them but those in authority who could not believe the level of confidence and stubbornness Trocme possessed.
Teresa DeBrito- During her tenure as principal of Shepaug Valley Middle School in Connecticut, Teresa DeBrito has seen class sizes continually decrease. A great thing for the education of the students, right? Smaller class sizes must mean more one-on-one teaching, more opportunities, and an overall better learning environment. These commonly accepted ideas, which have changed the shape of American education, remain in question. Even though the entire nation has placed priority on hiring more teachers to decrease class sizes, a study of 18 of the most prominent nations in the world detected that, in nearly every country, the benefits of decreasing class size are ambiguous. Gladwell connects this concept to that of parent wealth. He interviews an immigrant who grew up poor in Minneapolis, working extremely hard to make any money he could. Now a multimillionaire in Hollywood, this man struggles with how to instill the same hard-working values in his own children. He cannot use excuses like "we don't have the money" like his parents did, because it is not to hard for teenage kids to realize what kind of money they truly do have. Gladwell connects these two concepts with one of the most important theories in the book: The Inverted U-Curve. He argues that decreasing class size only benefits the students to a certain point before ultimately hurting in the end. In conjunction, parent wealth only helps with parenting until it eclipses a median $75,000/yr. This topic is further discussed in the topics section.
Caroline Sacks- In the late 19th century, the annual art display at the prestigious Salon in Paris was the most coveted art show in the world. Artists would submit their work and an elite group voted on which select few made the final cut to be put on display. The paintings had to be perfect, every detail following traditional work. Disappointed by the lack of advancement and freedom to express their feelings, a new group, called the Impressionists, formed. Their style, which contrasted the traditional Salon art in nearly every way, was not allowed at the Salon. Instead of quitting, they formed their own art display, which quickly gained popularity. Today, they are credited with recreating the brilliance of the art world. So how does the selectivity of the Salon in Paris connect to Caroline Sacks(fake name)? A brilliant student accepted and enrolled to Brown University, Caroline Sacks could not wait to attend an Ivy League school of her dreams. She loved science, but had numerous interests in other areas of study. Her academic achievements in high school were extensive, obtaining a perfect GPA and perfect test scores on each of her Advanced Placement Exams. She expected Brown to continue her curiosity and intellectual interests all while providing her with one of the greatest educations in the world. But what she experienced was far from that. Because everyone around her was just as smart or smarter, she struggled to feel confident in her abilities academically. She got the first C's of her life, and lost all interest in the school. She quickly realized, just as the Impressionists did, that the prestige of Brown, or the Salon, was also what made them troublesome. This is where Gladwell introduces the Small Fish in a Big Pond concept, which is further discussed in the topics section.
David Boies- Struggling from dyslexia from a young age, David Boies' expectations were low. His inability to read with efficiency brought many troubles throughout his childhood and school years. Even though he still struggles from reading as an adult, he has turned this inability into a desirable difficulty. He has become one of the most feared lawyers in the nation, winning huge cases such as Hollingsworth v. Schwarzenegger which deemed gay marriage bans unconstitutional. Similar to Boies, Ingvar Kamprad, who revolutionized the sale of furniture through IKEA, is dyslexic. Instead of worrying about becoming good readers, listeners, learners, and all the other skills that are required of a typical person, these extraordinary innovators created their own ways of becoming successful by taking risks and going outside the social norm. When Swedish manufacturers boycotted IKEA due to their low prices, Kamprad outsourced his production to Poland...in the heat of the Cold War. Such a bold yet challenging move, Kamprad made it work. Gladwell compares his incredulous move to "Walmart setting up shop in North Korea" today. Kamprad and Boies are not alone in their successes as dyslexics, however. A recent study by Julie Logan at City University London estimated that nearly 1/3 of successful innovators of the past few decades are dyslexic! Some of the most successful include: Charles Schwab, founder of discount brokerage company named after himself, David Neelman, founder of JetBlue, and John Chambers, CEO of technology giant Cisco. After revealing the success of so many business leaders, Gladwell poses the same question as he did at the beginning of the chapter: would you wish dyslexia upon your child?
Jay Freireich- In this chapter, Gladwell introduces another desirable difficulty: losing a parent at an early age. An early 1960's study by psychologist Marvin Eisenstadt, revealed that, of the 573 eminent people (people who had more than one article about them in the Encyclopedia Britannica) he found information on, 25% of them had lost a parent before the age of ten. By age fifteen, 34.5% were without at least one parent, and by twenty, 45%. 12 of our nation's 44 presidents lost their fathers while they were still young, including Barack Obama. Once again these struggles have produced extraordinarily successful citizens. Jay Freireich, a poor Illinois boy who grew up without a father, is now one of the most renowned cancer doctors in history. Assigned to the children's leukemia ward at the National Cancer Institute, Jay walked into bloodshed. When he arrived, "90 percent of the kids would be dead in six weeks" he explains. He introduce methods such as platelet transfusions and drug cocktails, mixing multiple intense cancer drugs in one. Along with colleague Thomas Frie, Freireich persistently tried new methods, much to the dismay of his bosses and Congress itself. All of his other coworkers and advisers wanted nothing to do with his trials, and mocked his stubborn behavior. But he started getting results. His final step, although the most controversial, ultimately turned children's leukemia into a very manageable disease. A previously foreign idea, Freireich suggested repeated chemotherapy treatments, every month for a year, rather than just one. By 1965, Freireich and Frie published "Progress and Perspectives in the Chemotherapy of Acute Leukemia" announcing their successful treatment of childhood leukemia. Today the cure rate is greater than 90%.
Wyatt Walker- Often overshadowed by the fame of MLK Jr., Wyatt walker may have been equally important in the Civil Rights Movement. Serving as King's partner in crime, or peace, Walker took a business-like approach to the movement rather than complete peace. His tactics were slick, intellectual, controversial, and overall successful. "At times I would accommodate or alter my morality for the sake of getting a job done because I was the guy having to deal with the results" Walker claimed. He was the one who handled the issues and business of MLK's plans. Yet, Walker had plenty of his own plans. He organized sit-ins, protests, confrontations, and numerous other civil rights events. Perhaps his most disputed was his call for schoolchildren to skip school and march through the city, with the ultimate goal of filling the jails. Walker faced opposition from King, Malcolm X, along with white police. Compared to Brer Rabbit, Walker relied on tricking the opposition to see results. The greatest of his "successes" came in the form of a picture, which illustrated a K9 dog biting an innocent teenage black boy. Published in nearly every national newspaper, this picture gave the country a semi-false sense of the racial divide in the South and in turn produced the first of many efforts in Congress to change the laws. Walker's sly tricks and business-like approach were instrumental in the implementation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Rosemary Lawlor- Newly married and living in Northern Ireland, Rosemary Lawlor and her husband were strong Catholics. Unfortunately, during the late 1960's and early 1970's, their religion was a minority to a majority of protestants. The distinct divide between beliefs in the region sparked conflict to the point of riots, fights, and killings. The British Army decided to put a quick end to the conflict, or so they thought. They invaded and started using powerful tactics to "calm" the violence. Predictably, the violence only multiplied. Gladwell then introduces the principle of legitimacy, a three part theory on the legitimacy of power. First people who obey authority have to feel like they have a voice. Second, the law has to be predictable. And finally, authority must be fair. The British Army disallowed the people of Northern Ireland to have a voice, they changed tactics by the day, and they favored protestants. By 1972, things were so bad that in that year alone there were 1,495 shootings, 531 armed robberies, 1,931 bombings, and 497 people killed. In contrast to this abuse of power, the police force in Brownsville, New York has dealt with rampant teenage robbery in a different way. They developed the Juvenile Robbery Intervention Program, encouraging teens to get back to school and stay out of trouble. Additionally, Joanne Jaffe, head of the Housing Bureau, delivers hundreds of turkeys on Thanksgiving to residents in the poorest parts of the city. By reaching out and gaining respect rather than fear of authority, Brownsville has seen robberies decrease by over 100% in 5 years and even greater decreases in teen arrests. Power is only legitimate when working in the right ways.
Wilma Derksen- In June of 1992, Mike Reynold's daughter Kimber was murdered ousitde a cafe in California by two men who had numerous previous run-ins with the law. Devastated and determined to make an impact, Mike proposed a law that severely punished repeat offenders, now known as the Three Strikes Law. Anyone convicted of a second harsh offense would serve double time, and anyone with a third serious criminal offense would be sentenced to 25 years to life, no exceptions. This law passed with ease in California and around the nation, however its effects have caused just as many problems. Jails are filled, people who commit crimes as simple as stealing food are sentenced to 25 years, and the costs are astounding. In a similar case, Wilma Derksen's daughter Candace was kidnapped, tortured, and killed in 1987. However, Wilma wanted to know why the person who killed her daughter lacked love in his life. She wanted to forgive. Her religion had taught her to be merciful in even the toughest times. 20 years after her daughter's death, the killer was finally brought to justice. Wilma dedicated her life to helping others forgive and learning to live through loving. As Gladwell concludes, "A man who employs the full power of the state in his grief ends up plunging his government into a fruitless and costly experiment. A woman who walks away from the promise of power finds the strength to forgive-- and save her friendship, her marriage, and her sanity. The world is turned upside down."
André Trocmé- "A violent man conquered by God", Andre Trocme was responsible for taking in and saving hundreds of Jews during the reign of Hitler. He fearlessly allowed the refugees into his home, never questioning their needs or reasons. Rather than secretly helping them, like many others did, Trocme publically announced his support of the Jewish refugees. Unafriad and willing to give his life for the equality of others, Trocme stayed true to himself and all the people he had promised to help. The government could have easily executed him as an example, but as Gladwell suggests, only another Andre Trocme would rise up stronger. His leadership and fearless determination to hinder the extermination of the innocent Jews was inspiring to not only them but those in authority who could not believe the level of confidence and stubbornness Trocme possessed.