Can We Trust Gladwell’s Outliers?
Maybe not! Fill in the blanks to see.
In an argumentative text, the author must include evidence from research to prove their thesis. We readers must EVALUATE that evidence, judging if it’s accurate.
Let’s do that for Outliers, beginning with Gladwell’s CLAIM, or thesis, which ends his first paragraph:
The closer psychologists look at the careers of the gifted, the smaller the role innate talent seems to play and the bigger the role preparation seems to play.
In other words, Gladwell says that . . .
1. _____________________________________________________________________________________
(you paraphrase Gladwell’s thesis here)
Now, let’s evaluate the evidence Gladwell gives in support, starting with PARAGRAPH 2, when he cites a study:
Exhibit A in the talent argument is a study done in the early 1990s by the psychologist K. Anders Ericsson and two colleagues at Berlin's elite Academy of Music
2a. What’s the name of the main researcher for this study? Dr. Daniel Levitin_________
2b. What qualifications (job) does this researcher have? __________________
2c. What are the date and location of his study? ______________________
Now, let’s evaluate the procedure Ericsson and his colleagues used to conduct the study. Gladwell writes:
With the help of the Academy’s professors, [the psychologists] divided the school’s violinists into three groups. In the first group were the stars, the students with the potential to become world-class soloists. In the second were those judged to be merely “good.” In the third were students who were unlikely to
ever play professionally and who intended to be music teachers in the public school system. All of
the violinists were then asked the same question: over the course of your entire career, ever since
you first picked up the violin, how many hours have you practiced?
The reader should read closely to look for examples of FAULTY LOGIC. For example, the text states that the Academy’s professors helped divide the students. But the text does not include the criteria the professors used (how they decided who was world-class or good). What do you think: Could these professors be BIASED when ranking their students into different ability groups? Could they have let their feelings get in the way of their judgments?
2d.__________________________________________________________________
3. Now we bring it all together. Based on the information above (in sections 1 and 2), do YOU trust Ericcson’s study? Why or why not?
___________________________________________________________________
Next, Gladwell states the question that the researchers asked all of the violinists. As you read the paragraph below, circle all the numbers:
[They asked the violinists] “Over the course of your entire career, how many hours have you practiced?” By the time they had reached the age of twenty, after beginning violin lessons at the age of five, the elite performers had each totaled ten thousand hours of practice. By contrast, the merely good students had totaled eight thousand hours, and the future music teachers had totaled just over four thousand hours.
The numerical information you circled is called STATISTICS. It refers to the study of the collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of data. Generally speaking, numbers do give CREDIBILITY. However, these statistics about practice time might be considered ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE, or reports from non-scientific observers. That’s because Gladwell does not explain how the researchers verified (made sure of) the number of hours that the violinists said they’d practiced.
Also, in the third paragraph, the author writes,
In those first few years, everyone practiced roughly the same amount, about two or three hours a week.
The words “about” and “roughly” indicate GENERALIZATIONS, or estimations. Based on this anecdotal evidence and generalizing language, do you think this experiment was strictly controlled? And do you trust it? Why or why not?
4.________________________________________________________________
Now, as you go through the rest of the Outliers, make sure to evaluate the rest of the information which Gladwell uses to develop his central idea, the information from Daniel Levitin, Michael Howe, and Harold Schonberg. Afterwards decide whether our section of Outliers is a credible source.
