Summary on Outliers Chapter 3

Summary on Outliers Chapter 3 “The Trouble with Geniuses, Part 1”

In Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers chapter 3 “the trouble with geniuses, part 1,” he states that a person’s IQ is not so effective to success once they reach a level; it means that people have equally chance to become successful once they pass a high level of IQ. He uses basketball players to explain it and make it easier to understand. He writes that the height matters to the basketball players; however, once it reaches a height, it doesn't matter so much. Any heights over that, speed and skills matter; so does IQ to people. He uses a very high IQ person named Christopher Langan who has higher IQ than most of people even Einstein, but he doesn't have that kind of big achievement as Einstein. There is a study of geniuses which is about a group of geniuses grow up have a normal life without any big achievements to supports Gladwell’s idea. Gladwell believes that there is one thing that affects a person besides IQ; that is imagination. When two people have the same level of IQs, their imaginations affect more to success. (pp. 69-90)

I think Gladwell is right. Although IQ is an important element to success, it is not the only element to success. I like that he uses many interesting study and examples to back up his idea. And the IQ test questions are very interesting too. It makes the readers engage in the reading by thinking how to solve the problems. There are more examples like this, for example, the brick and blanket test and the manhole question. It really makes me think. I even wen online and did a set of IQ test questions. Although he states that IQ is not so important once they reach a level, does he means that everyone below that level can’t become successful? He also mentions the graduate universities of Nobel Prize winners. Although he believes that those rejected by Harvard who are equally intelligent as those accepted by Harvard go to other school and also have the ability to win the Nobel Prize, I think education from the university also matters. Even though they don't get into Harvard, they enter to good college with better education than many of others.