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I'm in Madrid right now, having just read Malcolm Gladwell's book 'Outliers' (recommended by a particularly shy blogger - you know who you are!). I hope many, many people read this book. Gladwell's main point is that success depends largely on apparently irrelevant circumstances, such as what month you were born in, and that a small bit of early success gets amplified into stardom for a few lucky people. One of the most compelling cases concerns star athletes, who are culled from a young age from successively more selective little leagues. Since young children are grouped by age, those who are born just after the cutoff (e.g., Dec. 31) have a big advantage because they are bigger and stronger than their peers. They do better at the sport, get picked for intense training, get better as a result, with the result that most pro hockey players in Canada were born in the first quarter of the year.

Gladwell also talks about how cultural norms play a huge role in determining success of upper class children vs. lower class children (which we already knew), and that it's really the summertime activities that let the upper class children get ahead (judging from standardized test scores). He was less successful at convincing me that Asian kids are better at math because their ancestors had a rice paddy work ethic (seems to me that this would translate into a nonspecific advantage). A particularly chilling example of the importance of cultural norms is discussed with regard to airline accidents, where the degree of assertiveness of the crew was important (e.g. the willingness of the first officer to contradict the captain), although I would have liked to see more statistics.

Another interesting point he makes is that above a certain threshold, IQ is largely irrelevant to success, since other types of intelligence (like practical intelligence and creativity) are also important (and, based on personal experience, probably not correlated with IQ. :) )

Why am I reading my Kindle when I could be touring Madrid, visiting the Prado museum, or getting a Mediterranean suntan? Well, I did walk around a bit, saw old and new buildings, and ate some Spanish tapas, but ultimately what I really wanted to do was read. I know I should be taking better advantage of the location, but actually I can't wait to get back home to do some wedding planning oops! I mean labwork. :)

Anyway, this book made me think about lab culture, and how to encourage a culture of assertiveness and self-reliance in an atmosphere of hierarchy (such as at Harvard). I'll probably start having mini-lab meetings soon; maybe I'll try to start a tradition of recounting mistakes, so we can all benefit from each other's experiences and so people will be less intimidated by others. That'll be a good exercise in self-examination, anyway!

Whew, I just got back from dinner which lasted for 4 hours (no kidding!). First were drinks, then a leisurely meal of fried baby squid, cured pork (a Spanish specialty), sardines, angler fish (all with white wine) and sorbet with cava (the Spanish equivalent of champagne).