Feldman's Faves: November 14, 2022

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE

I hope you missed me as much as I missed you. I spent last week hiking in Peru with some of my high school buddies and which one of my daughters referred to as the “Middle Aged Madness Tour 2022 (Jon’s Version)”. I know there is nothing more interesting in life than looking at other people’s vacation photos so you are all more than welcome to spend three to four hours in my office looking at my pictures, listening to 30 years of inside jokes and getting a detailed play by play of this trip. Or not….

I want to wish our good friend Cristina a very happy (belated) birthday and to congratulate Randy once again on the great Precedent Article in which he is featured.

Today’s theme looks at the Malcolm Gladwell classic and considers its very real impact on society.

Outliers: The story of success By: Malcolm Gladwell – I assume that many of you have either read or heard of Outliers, a book that is famous for many things including the 10,000 hours ethos for mastery of a craft, job or anything in life. For Neill May that is otherwise known as Q1 at Goodmans… When Outliers first came out it had an immediate and enormous impact on business, organizations and families. One of the most interesting tidbits to come out of this book was his hypothesis that “birth month” had a major role on determining a child’s future success and why the “January-born-baby” had a much better chance of “making the team” than the one born in November. As a March baby myself, I may have been the exception that proved the rule… In any case, one of the lasting legacies of this book is that parents actually listened to what Gladwell said and decided to hold back their “later month babies” so their kids could have a better chance to succeed in school, sports and in life. I had read this book years ago but then re-read it last week after listening to the PODCAST referenced below, which you can listen to for yourself. It is amazing to me how influential certain authors of pop psychology are to society in general and I am not convinced this is a good thing. What I do know is that the old cliché of “a little knowledge being a dangerous thing” certainly has some application here. Here is a good review from the NYT - https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/books/review/Leonhardt-t.html

Revisionist History - Outliers, Revisited - As noted above, this PODCAST tests and questions the validity of Gladwell’s hypothesis from Outliers. I have to say it’s a little bit shocking how parents have altered their approach to school and upbringing for their children– but listen for yourselves. Here’s an excerpt from the PODCAST itself: “Did Malcolm Gladwell blow it in his bestselling book Outliers? What if all he did was write a primer for neurotic helicopter parents? To find out, Revisionist History descends on the University of Pennsylvania to run a roomful of eager students through a mysterious experiment, complete with Sharpies, huge white stickers, and a calculator. It does not end well. If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts, be sure to sign up for our email list at Pushkin.fm. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information”: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/revisionist-history/id1119389968?i=1000579357535

Thank you for your ongoing engagement and participation.

And remember to stay safe, stay healthy and to docket daily.

Jon