okansas.blogspot.com Occassional thoughts about orienteering
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Outliers
Just about everything Malcolm Gladwell writes is interesting. I just finished his latest book - Outliers. Gladwell writes about why some people are especially successful. He touches on some of the things I've written in the past, like success, practice, and expertise.
Here's a quote from Outliers that caught my eye. Substitute "orienteering" for "mathematics":
We sometimes think of being good at mathematics as an innate ability. You either have "it" or you don't. But to Schoenfeld, it's not so much ability as attitude. You master mathematics if you are willing to try....Success is a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard...