I've just read the first chapter and I'm hooked. Thought I would share a bit of it, so I dont forget this interesting book!
Outlier: Something that is situation from or classed differently from a main or related body.
In Canada for ice hockey the eligibility cut-off for age-class is January 1. So a boy who turns 10 on January 2 could be playing alongside someone who doesnt turn 10 until the end of the year. and at that age 12months makes a huge difference in physical maturity. This is the age where coaches start selecting kids for the travelling "rep" squad. The players that are bigger and more co-ordinated (which could be the difference of only a few months) will more likely get chosen, from there instead of playing an average of twenty games a season will play 60 or 70. he gets better coaching, his teammates are better, practices nearly three times as much as he would of otherwise. So in the beginning his advantage is only because he is slightly older then others, but by the time he turns 13 he really is better, so therefore he will more likely be picked for the junior A league. This happens with football in Europe, Baseball in America and schools all around the world!
The sociologist Robert Merton famously called this phenomenon the "Matthew Effect" after the New Testament verse in the Gospel of Matthew: "For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance. But from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." It is those who are successful, in other words, who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success. It's the rich who get the biggest tax breaks. It's the best students that get the best teaching and most attention. And it's the biggest nine and ten year-olds who get the most coaching and practice. Success is the result of what sociologists like to call "accumulative advantage."
What I'm pretty much try to explain is that these 'outliers' (successful people) dont just rise from nothing. They are invariably the beneficiaries of hiden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard to make sense of the world in ways others cannot.
If I'm not making sense, read the book!
