Malcolm In The Middle Of Things

The LA Times recently featured a piece on Malcolm Gladwell and his latest, Outliers (#1 on The New York Times best-seller list), which is the rage of Hollywood. In fact, Gladwell seems to be the guru of choice these days, but has he ever had an insight that wasn't obvious?

He hit it big with The Tipping Point, which had the thesis that at a certain point, a movement toward change becomes unstoppable. Next came Blink, in which he argued a trained mind makes quick, unconscious decisions. Now we have Outliers, which explains that those who succeed get in a lot of practice before they make it. Perhaps I'm simplifying his ideas, but not by as much as you'd imagine.

What next? Is he going to demonstrate that pop sociology is a lot easier to do than rigorous science? The world awaits.