AP Lang Summer Reading

Outliers Edition

What pattern was apparent when looking at successful hockey players?

The best hockey players were born in Janurary, February, and March because those born at the beginning of the year were almost a year older due to the cut-off date.

How did this couple extra months effect the hockey players?

Because they were older their skills were cultivated more due to their physical maturity(their “talent”) which caused them to get better gear and more training.

What tragedy is most likely to occur to those born in later months during college?

They were more likely to attempt suicide because they weren’t as good at a skill as those who were born with the advantage.

What is the main takeaway from the hockey example?

When you are born and your age play a big role in how you will be successful.

How many hours is it said it take to be successful at something?

10,000 hours

Why was Mozart successful?

Though his early works weren’t really all that good, and likely mostly composed by his parentals, he was able to get more practice which helped him to be great later on in life.

How did the 10,000 hour rule apply to Bill Gates?

Starting at the 8th grade, Bill Gates had access to one of the world’s newest computers. During his summers, he spent a lot of time learning how programming work, and during the first 7 months he spent over 1,500 hours (8 hours a day/7 days a week.

What is the difference between wealthy and non-wealthy parents?

Wealthy parents take their children and have them do stuff all the time to keep them busy (violin practice, soccer practice, etc.) meaning they are always practicing their skills and cultivating them.

Non-Wealthy parents often let their kids do what they want and don’t push for them to do everything all the time. This leads to less practice due to the little support that they are given.

How many numbers could students of the English language memorize given a set amount of time in the example?

Around 50% or the entire thing about 50% of the time

How many numbers could student of the Chinese language memorize given a set amount of time in the example?

100% most of the time

Why is it said that the Chinese students memorized the numbers better than the English students?

Because they way we pronounce different letters causes there to be more syllables; whereas, those who speak Chinese have less syllables and it flows more. They are also shorter in their language making it easier for them to memorize them.

Why does Gladwell say that the English number system is not logical?

He says that if it were logical, our number system would say things like “one teen, two teen, and three teen” instead of changing it up everyt ime.

How do they count in China, Korea, and Japan that is considered more logical to Gladwell

They use addition to represent high numbers
Example: “Ten two = 12” “Two Tens Four= 24”

How far behind are American children at the age of 5 compared to those in Asian countries?

A year behind

What is the main focus of Gladwell talking about how Asians are better at math?

He is describing the principal that language is important.

What does Gladwell talk about when he is mention rice patties?

Gladwell is talking about the 10,000 hour rule and how people constantly have to work at them. He says that the Asian culture understands that to grow these rice patties they have to work hard, and that they need to work hard to be successful.

What does western culture say is the best way to get more yield of things like crops?

We need to expand our technology
Example: Tractors, Law Mowers, etc.

What do Asian cultures say about getting more yield?

We don’t need to improve our technology, we just need to work harder and put more work into what we do.

How many hours a year do rice workers put in?

3,000 hours under the hot sun

What is the TIMSS test?

A 120 question test given to all the countries to see which country is really good at math and which country is really good at science (based on a selection of random students)

What is the correlation between the questions answered at the end of test questionnaire and the test scores?

It was exactly the same as the math score. Therefore, math is not an innate skill, instead it is an attitude. (The harder you try, the better at math you are going to be)

What is the main take away from the Rice Patty and TIMSS Test examples?

The idea that being good at something is not an innate ability (a talent you were born with) and is instead an attitude towards that subject that one can develop/cultivate.

What does gladwell say about the factors that lead us to be successful?

He states that not all of the factors are within our control.

“People don’t rise from nothing…But in fact 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” (Gladwell 19).

Gladwell is saying that we are not always in control of our success. Factors out of our control in our lives provide us with advantages that allow us to be successful such as place of birth, language, our access to practice, our parents, etc.

What is the “Matthew Effect”?

Accumulated advantages based on opportunities and factors within ones life that drives an individual to be successful.

Where is it said Bill Joy attended college that allowed him access to all of the best computers and programming softwares?

The University of Michigan

What did Bill Joy create from all of his practice?

The software that allows you to access the internet

What is the main word repeated over and over again through the entire book that Gladwell wants us to remember?

Opportunity

What band played in Hamburg 7 days a week for 8+ hours that allowed them to develop their skills and become known world-wide

The Beatles

“"‘I had a better exposure to software development at a young age than I think anyone did in that period of time, and all because of an incredibly lucky series of events’” (Gladwell 54).

Bill Gates reflects his success based on the many opportunities he had in his life like his support from his parents and his access to computer coding software.

“We pretend that success is exclusively a matter of individual merit” (Gladwell 67).

We believe that all successful people are successful because they are self-made and earn it, when, in reality, this is not always the case.

What was the group of children called whose IQs ranged from over 140 up to 200?

They were known as the “Termites” and were supposed to be known as the ones destined to be the future elite of the United States

How was Terman wrong about his “Termites”

Not all of them would turn out to be as successful as he thought. Instead,a scientist with an IQ of 130 is more likely to win a Nobel Prize than one with an IQ of 180.

What does Gladwell mean when he says there is a “Threshold on intelligence”

He means that after a certain point, intelligence stops effecting you based solely on your IQ.

Who is Lnagan’s situation compared to

His mother’s failure to meet the deadline of paying tuition is compared to Oppenheimer trying to poison his tutor.

At what part of our development do our opportunities matter most?

When were are kids because it becomes a snowball effect later in life.

What are the three factors connected to opportunity?

Time, Social Savvy (Intelligence), and Hardship

How is Social Savvy developed in kids?

Parents have to allow their kids to speak up about how they are feeling and negotiate on certain topics.

Who does Gladwell use as an example as to why hardships can create opportunity?

He talks about a Jewish lawyer who was always given the rough cases; however, later in life when it became more popular and less controversial, he had already had time to practice on it and be good at what he did.

Culture of Deference

Cultures believe that there is a hierarchy in their workplace, so in some cultures they are too scared to speak up against what their boss says. This example is used in the pilot and first officer example. The first officer feels something is wrong but his culture tells him not to speak up against the pilot, so he tries to warn him through subtle hints. But the pilot is American and needs him to speak up if he believes something is wrong, so there ends up being a miscommunication leading to the plane crash.

What is midi gated speech?

Framing a demand to sound like a question which can often downplay the severity of a situation
Example: Instead of “Turn right here” they may say “Should we turn right here?”