One of the main benefits of being at the Gates Foundation is the large number of special guests and speakers we have every year.\u00a0 Last Friday, we hosted a chat with the brilliant Malcolm Gladwell.\u00a0\u00a0 I had never read any of his books before but I had heard glowing reviews for Tipping Point and Blink.\u00a0 The focus of his discussion was his new book – Outliers.\u00a0 Despite the name, the real intent of the book is not to point out what is unique about an individual or situation, it is to present the unique set of circumstances that lead to an “outlier”.\u00a0 He was brilliant!\u00a0 Some of the things he discussed:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Why rice growing traditions in Southeast Asia have led to higher math test scores
\n\u2022 Why most elite hockey players are born during the early parts of the year
\n\u2022 Why the birthdate of a majority of our software tycoons is within the same three year period<\/p>\n
I purchased his book for a friend and got it signed, however I could not stop myself from reading it from page to page over the past weekend.\u00a0 It is brilliant!<\/p>\n
The inauguration of Barack Obama is tomorrow.\u00a0 One of Malcolm’s most interesting speaking points was that America sees Obama as an outlier but in many ways he is not.\u00a0 Symbollically he might be the fruition of Martin Luthor King’s dreams, but technically his background doesn’t match.\u00a0 In the end, it doesn’t really matter.\u00a0 Tomorrow we will have an inspiring new president with an inbox from hell.\u00a0 I have tremendous faith in him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One of the main benefits of being at the Gates Foundation is the large number of special guests and speakers we have every year.\u00a0 Last Friday, we hosted a chat with the brilliant Malcolm Gladwell.\u00a0\u00a0 I had never read any of his books before but I had heard glowing reviews for Tipping Point and Blink.\u00a0 … Continue reading Malcolm Gladwell<\/span>