As I often do, I was thinking about hair. As many of you know, I love doing hair! I frequently try out new complicated braids and hairstyles. I started thinking about my sort-of success at braiding hair as Malcolm Gladwell would evaluate success. It was really helpful in making Gladwell's theory more personal and tangible.
First off, let's discuss the advantages I have because of my parentage. My mother is extremely talented at doing hair. She has assisted in doing hair for Mayfair's musical productions and also does girls' hair for prom. When she was a teenager, she had hair down to her waist. Because she was on her school's basketball team, she had to have her braided back every day so it wouldn't get in the way. My grandmother went to school to be a hairdresser, so she was also very talented at doing hair.
What's more, I was born in 1998. That would make me 16 years old now. I have access to thousands of hair ideas from the Internet. Hair tutorials are free and plentiful for anyone willing to hit the search button on Google. Also, braids are trending as a style, so I have motivation to learn.
I am lucky enough to have long and straight hair, which is much more easy to braid than short and curly hair. I also inherited my 6'5'' dad's long arms and fingers, which helps me hold multiple pieces of hair at once.
Finally, I practice. As Monique has discussed, Malcolm Gladwell states that 10,000 hours is the amount of time needed for someone to become an expert at something. While I definitely haven't practiced for that long, I do practice doing hairstyles. I have long enough hair to braid, a sister who lets me practice on her hair if she's in a good mood, a mom who is willing to help me, and a desire to learn.
Thinking of success in this way is what Malcolm Gladwell does in Outliers. I find it very interesting to think about. I am now constantly thinking about success differently. When I see someone who seems successful, I want to peer into their life. I want to find out what advantages do they have because of their race, gender, birthdate, education, money, parents, job, or what else?
On an unrelated topic, I have been thinking about the connection between the Outliers and Mindset. While I haven't read Mindset, it seems as if the Outliers encourages readers to have a fixed mindset. Gladwell's point is that success isn't so much a product of natural talent and determination as it is about opportunity. People who aren't given opportunities won't have a chance at success. While he does state that natural talent and hard work is still a key for success, a person's environment is more important. I guess this means any single, bald, boys attending an all boys school don't have a great chance at becoming a hair guru (although I doubt they would have much motivation to become one!). What does everyone think? Does the Outliers add to a reader's fixed mindset, and if so, is this beneficial or harmful?
"it seems as if the Outliers encourages readers to have a fixed mindset. Gladwell's point is that success isn't so much a product of natural talent and determination as it is about opportunity."
ReplyDeleteHey Kaila! To answer your question at the end, I'm going to use this quote i pulled from your post :) In a fixed mindset, people do think it's about natural talent. That's the big thing: either you have it or you don't, either you are or you aren't. The idea that your determination does not affect your success is definitely part of the fixed mindset, and the idea that it's all about opportunities can be argued both ways. It could be seen as a fixed mindset because it's saying only those with opportunity (not determination) can succeed, or a growth mindset because it's saying you don't have to be born amazing, you can become amazing.
Also, I posted a comment on Monique's post and I'd like you to think about it too. When it comes to something as simple as braiding hair, the idea of practice makes perfect definitely applies. Even I, the tomboy to end all tomboys (completely unrelated note, urban dictionary actually uses the name Lina in their tomboy sample sentence), have learned how to make a simple braid, even if it isn't that great. But does that idea always apply? Do you think that practice makes perfect works in every situation? And, on the other side of things, do genetics always factor in too? Because, as you described, my mom had 10 younger siblings and a lot of free time in Palestine, so all she did was do hair. Girls in the middle east are expected to have long hair, so she rarely cut it shorter than her mid-back. My two older sisters have hair to their waists and can do every single hairstyle imaginable (especially Yasmin). My younger sister is already learning how to braid and obsessing over her hair. And then there's me. So I question whether Gladwell can say that genetics and opportunity always play a role in these types of things....
Really good points Lina! It made me actually think. I like how you said that Gladwell can be seen as having both a fixed mindset and a growth mindset, depending on which way you think about. From looking at it from that perspective, I agree that he has a bit of both.
DeleteI think it's true that practice doesn't always make perfect. In music, if someone is completely tone deaf, then in all honestly there is absolutely no way for them to become a good singer. Also, some people do just have a natural talent for things. I do believe, however, that practice USUALLY makes perfect. I guess it depends on what is being discussed. Pretty much anyone who is willing to practice and has a motivation to learn can become a world-famous recorder player but not everyone can become a good leader. I suppose it is more often than not a combination of talent and practice.
Also, Gladwell doesn't say that parentage always influences success. One thing I've learned from Outliers is that success is complicated. Many different factors can lead to success. My example with hair was a simple and flawed one, but it demonstrates this principle. Maybe for you, you came from the right family, you were born at the right time, and you had great opportunities, but you didn't have motivation to learn for whatever reason. Gladwell's book encourages us to simply look at success differently. Sometimes, the month when you are born is the biggest factor in determining success, sometimes its your parentage, sometimes its your race, or gender, or age, or living conditions, or income, or any number of things. Sometimes its just your determination and practice that is the final factor. Gladwell looks for patterns (for example, Asians being good at math or Canadian hockey players being born in January through March) and then he can figure out what leads to success.
Hey Kai! Thanks for the response (some people just ignore me), and I like the explanation! But of course, being me, I have one more question (in regards to your second paragraph) which I will precede with a super long explanation. :)
DeleteDuring our last book club meeting, the Mindset group was talking about how sometimes, it's beneficial to have a fixed mindset because there are just some things that some people can't do in life. I mentioned that academics was one place that I thought anybody could do well in as long as they tried hard enough. Ms. Fletcher happened to be observing our table at the moment and disagreed. I was shocked. She said that she has had several students that try so hard and out in A LOT of time and effort, but still never progress in their academics. "Some people just can't do it."
Later on, Sarah brought up sports, and our table began debating whether sports was something anybody could do well in with enough practice. But many of us agreed that if you didn't have a slight foundation in that talent, then practicing for tons of time probably wouldn't help you much anyway.
You mentioned singing. If you already could sing (even if you weren't that great), then you could definitely practice for hours and get better. But what if you don't even have a base? You can't even sing the slightest note because you're "tone deaf"?? Or, for another example, take my sister Yasmin. She will never be good at sports. It's just a fact of life. She flinches every time a ball is thrown at her. Her endurance is, well, nonexistent, so she can't run very far or very fast. She has an older sister who was in cross country, an older brother who was in band and basketball, and a younger sister who was in cross country. But she's just not athletic. And no matter how hard she tries, she doesn't improve. But I, who am a pretty average runner, improve every time i run. Whether it's during a race or on my own, i get better every time. But I'll never be able to paint gorgeous paintings or sing beautiful songs, no matter how many hours of practice I put in. I might eventually learn the basics of art or singing, but not enough to come even close to great, let alone perfect.
So I wonder, DOES practice USUALLY make perfect? Or is there a little invisible line there that says "Practice makes perfect (as long as you're already slightly talented)." Do you need a foundation in something or at least a small bit of talent in that area to be able to apply the practice makes perfect principle?
Sorry for the super long comment (maybe this is why people don't respond to me...) and thanks for your last reply :)
My comments are almost as long Lina:)
DeleteI think it depends on the talent we're talking about. Sometimes, you do have to have a bit of talent to begin with, and then practice will make perfect. Sometimes, a talent can be taught through learning and practice, but those with natural talent will always be better than those without. An example is running, like you were saying. Theoretically, anyone can run; however, those with natural talent will always be better than those without. Another example is us. Lina, you have a great talent of being able to communicate well with adults. I am horrible at this! Put me in a room full of kids ages 1-12 and I'll become their biggest hero and best friend. I'm great with kids! But ask me to enlist a teacher's help on a project or make small talk on an airplane, and I freeze up. I even dread answering the phone because I'm so nervous it'll be an adult and I won't know what to say! I suppose, with practice, I could become a better communicator, but I will never be as good of a communicator as someone with a natural talent. So in a way, practice can mean progress, but only practice plus talent can mean perfect. Also, I think it's hard to discover that "invisible line" you referred to where Practice makes perfect (as long as you're already slightly talented). It's easy to see natural talent in others, but it's really hard to see talents in ourselves because they are so natural, we often think everyone has it. People who think they completely learned a talent may actually have a natural ability they're not seeing.
Sorry, I got kind of off topic. I guess the end lesson to be learned from Gladwell is that success is VERY complicated. We have to look at a person's environment, natural talent, practice time, genes, and so much more in order to see what makes a person successful. Also, it's a case by case basis. Sometimes one factor will be important to success, sometimes it won't be. It all depends.
Lina, maybe I misspoke. I didn't mean that some of our late-blooming students NEVER achieve academic success. But for some of these kids, it takes a long time. Maybe 10000 hours.
DeleteKaila: I love your response! And trust me, there are A LOT of adults that scare me on the inside! I feel like we should both just stick to children from now on ;) But yeah, I see what you're saying, and thanks for the explanation :) :) This is why we're besties: you take the time to answer all my stupid questions, and seeing as I never stop asking questions, I'm just going to assume you love me. Love you too Kai ;) <3 <3 <3
DeleteMs Fletcher: Oops.... but those 10000 hours will definitely be worth it in the end, so I seriously hope they do actually put in the time and get through it because the idea of them NEVER being able to get better is a lot harder to deal with!
DeleteKaila, your blog post about braiding hair is adorable ;P But I don't think Gladwell encourages people to have a fixed mindset. Maybe he has a fixed mindset and it shows in his book, but I doubt he encourages it. He obviously thinks that people with certain opportunities can have an affect on their success, but like you said, you also the need to have the determination to practice for 10,000 hours. You would have to have the growth mindset to have that kind of determination, especially since at the beginning you're bound to fail. So I think Gladwell encourages both mindsets, if he even knows what those are. ;)
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