Reflection on 6 Powerpoint materials.
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OutliersChpt1.pptxPart One: Opportunity
Successful people are given opportunities that others do not have.
They may have been born at the right time.
They may have had supportive parents/family.
Luck and good circumstances play a role.
Successful people make use of their opportunities.
Chapter 1: The Matthew Effect
The chapter opens by quoting a verse from the book of Matthew (which is in the Bible).
Matthew 25:29 New Living Translation (NLT)
To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.
What does this say about opportunity and success?
Some people have an advantage because they were born at the right time
In Canadian professional hockey leagues, 40% were born between January and March, 30% between April and June, 20% between July and September, and only 10% between October and December. Why are more professional hockey players born earlier in the year?
In Canada, the cut-off birth date for trying out for hockey leagues is January 1st. So, if you turn ten on January 1, you are going to be a lot bigger, physically more mature, and more coordinated than a child who turns ten on December 31st.
The bigger kids will play better and then be picked by better coaches for more competitive teams. So the bigger kids will have better coaches, more opportunities to improve & play against other more competitive teams.
We can see the effect of an advantageous birthdate in other areas
More American baseball players & European soccer players were born shortly after cut-off dates so as children they were bigger than the other players.
In education, children who start school at an older age (due to cut-off dates) often end up doing better. Older children scored better in math tests.
“At four-year colleges in the United States…students belonging to the relatively youngest group in their class are underrepresented by about 11.6 percent.” p. 29
“Think for a moment about what the story of hockey and early birthdays says about success. It tells us that our notion that it is the best and the brightest who effortlessly rise to the top is much too simplistic.”
Yes, the hockey players who make it to the professional level are more talented than you or me. But they also got a big head start, an opportunity that they neither deserved or earned. And that opportunity played a critical role in their success.” p. 30
