Tuesday, September 21, 2010

The Trouble With Outliers, Pt. 1

In his “Trouble with Geniuses, Part I” chapter, Malcolm Gladwell begins to clarify his argument that we continually have trouble understanding outliers. Researchers and an array of commentators often rely too heavily on conventional measures of aptitude to predict the ingredients of those who become extraordinary successes. For example, we label those who perform exceptionally well on IQ tests “geniuses,” and that designation falsely presumes that they will become highly successful.

According to Gladwell, individuals hardly need to be exceptionally intelligent or super smart to do really well. Instead, they merely need to be “smart enough.” And those who are smart enough do not need to attend the very best schools to gain the knowledge and training to win the Nobel Prize in Medicine, for example. They just have to attend a school that is “good enough.”

What two things should we be thinking about if we want to ensure that our local learning environments are “good enough”? Why should we be thinking about those things right now?

21 comments:

Bryan M. said...

First, you need to have almost perfect attendence in your classes. You are not going to learn anything if you are not attending the classes. It is almost impossible to teach yourself a course, that is what the teachers are there for. Secondly, you need to be in classes that are relevant to what you want to be doing in life or your major. For example, a biology major, like myself, does not need to take music classes or astronomy classes. You need to focus on the classes that will help you be "smart enough" in the subjects that matter to you.

Anonymous said...

I personally enjoyed this chapter. I always wanted to know the story behind the Stanford-Binet IQ test, and why a test that is so trusted could be so flawed. After reading about Terman I began to see the reasons for the flaws.
Terman was

Joe Brown said...

I apologize if a fragment of a comment appears before this comment, I accidentally sent one.

I personally enjoyed this chapter. It was interesting learning about the origins of Stanford-Binet IQ test.

It bothered me that such a trusted test could be flawed, but after reading this chapter and about Terman, it suddenly made sense. Because Terman believed that the IQ score was related directly to sucess in life, which to a point is true, he failed to realize that there is an upper threshold for intelligence, and sucess above that threshold is relatively the same regarless of how much the score differs from the threshold.

I also enjoyed learning about the divergence test. The divergence test was a great way to show practical intelligence in people. I believe that if it were used to supplement an IQ test, then educators, parents and the general public would have a better idea of the true intellect of those who take it.

Ke'Asha jones said...

I believe to ensure that our learning environment is good enough we need to look at how it actually benefits us to be here. Will this "good enough" education actually be "good enough" for us or will is it only "good enough" for someone else. Another thing we need to keep in mind is that although this place may be "good enough" are we going to be focused enough to get this "good enough" education that will lead us to expand our minds and go on and do successful things. Just because we are in the right place with the wrong mindset it will do nothing for us.

Jasmine said...

Why should we be thinking about those things right now?
The two things that we should be thinking about if we want to ensure that our local learning environments are good enough is how much time we put into them and basically just making sure we do enough to make the students "good enough". An example being the fact that a lot of people who didn't go to Harvard were still able to win Nobel Prizes. The reason being because they went to a school that may not have been the best but it was "good enough" and they may not have been the smartest but they were "good enough".

We should be thinking about those things because then the kids who aren't deemed geniuses could also get better education. The students that test into the "gifted" programs get better education for the rest of their schooling. If people realized that just because a student can do well on a test doesn't mean they will have the most success then maybe every student could get an equal education.

Zack Leija said...

To ensure that our learning environments are good enough, we as students need to make sure that we give ourselves the chance to succeed and that we give our absolute best to perform to our highest ability. And also, we need to make sure that we take advantage of every opportunity at our disposal to help us gain the upper hand on our own education and to help get us ahead in life.

We may not always be the smartest based on tests given or just be born with high IQ's, but we are "good enough" to be able to perform and do as well as those people who are. Despite where our education is from, it is all the same and everyone learns the same information, it's all just a matter of how hard one pushes themselves to be "good enough" and be as smart as a genius. It takes determination, a great amount of time, and hard work to succeed but anyone can do it.

We should be worried about this now because what we do now affects our immediate life as well as our future. Doing our best now and being "good enough" will enable us to have a better future. Whether we accept it or not,our actions now affect what we become and if we do our best now, we will be "good enough" in the future.

Jewel M. said...

I think the focus should be on what exactly is "good enough". Without a clear understanding of that you can't accomplish what’s supposed to be accomplished. After the understanding is identified, the plan or goal to be "good enough" needs to be made. Nothing is executed well if a plan or at least a general idea is had.

We should be focusing on this now, because this is the point in our lives where it dictates how our future can be. Applying yourself just enough to be "good enough" may require more work now than before. Thus an adjustment needs to be made to make sure you remain on track of becoming "good enough."

Gabriel C. said...

We have to make sure that the environment that we surround ourselves in, when we learn, is one that promotes good habits as well as influences, in a good way, how we learn. Making a detailed schedule of tasks that we need to complete would also allow for an environment that would promote better learning. Scheduling task allows for less worry and a more refined picture of what needs to take place to have the best chance to strive in the academic world.

Eric Horin said...

I agree with Bryan in that you must go to all of your classes in order to do well in college. Also, I think that the learning environment could be improved if people explained how the material in class relates to your major or profession. That way people would understand why they must take certain classes in order to graduate and be more motivated to do well in them.

Kiera H. said...

The first thing that we should focus on is individualism. Focusing on a group is beneficial in some cases, but when you can reach out to an individual, great things happen. You can then reach into the depths of their mind and figure out the type of person that they are and the type of attention that they need.
The second thing that we should focus on is how to reach out to EVERY student. Not every person is able to be reached by doing common things. You have to be unique in your approach, and appeal to everyones senses.

Brian Cooper said...

Ways that our local learning environments can improve so that they are "good enough" is by making classes mentally stimulating and by making them more applicable to actual careers. Bryan M. mentioned in an earlier post that schools need to have perfect attendence. But even if all the students are there physically and the classes arent mentally stimulating and engaging to the studenst, the attendence will not matter since the students wont be actively learning and participating. Also schools should make classes more applicable to life situations. Like as much as I loved being in my AP AB Calculus class last yr, I dont see a time in my life were I would constantly using Calculus. And for this reason students see classes like that as a joke since they will never actively use it in their lives.

Bradley Goolsby said...

We should be thinking about what is truly important to know and what would help someone survive in the real world. Just become someone goes to school doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be prepared to succeed in life. We should focus on what truly matters, more than what we think matters. We should also try focusing on one’s individual traits, rather than just teaching every student the same exact way, some learn differently than others, and can affect the learning process. If we think about these things now, it would help future generations adapt better to life, though there is always room for improvement.

Jim Engracia said...

The readings were really interesting this week and I was able to learn a lot about myself in a self reflection.
I think one thing that we can do to ensure our local learning environment is "good enough" is defining what "good enough" means to us. For example, SIUE could be "good enough" because the school is not the largest school. I know I liked SIUE because of that. "Good enough" could mean different things to different people.
Another thing to make sure our local learning environment is "good enough" is to be part of your learning. This could be done by going to class and by participating in school. I know many people who went to a smaller school or for them a "good enough" school and made the best. Some of them are very successful in their domain. By going to school and making the best of it allows it to be successful even if your not a "genius"
We should be thinking about this because it is important to ourselves and our future. This "good enough" in our local learning environment can allow us to succeed and be leaders in the future. This means that we can prepare for the future.

Jim Engracia said...

The readings were really interesting this week and I was able to learn a lot about myself in a self reflection.
I think one thing that we can do to ensure our local learning environment is "good enough" is defining what "good enough" means to us. For example, SIUE could be "good enough" because the school is not the largest school. I know I liked SIUE because of that. "Good enough" could mean different things to different people.
Another thing to make sure our local learning environment is "good enough" is to be part of your learning. This could be done by going to class and by participating in school. I know many people who went to a smaller school or for them a "good enough" school and made the best. Some of them are very successful in their domain. By going to school and making the best of it allows it to be successful even if your not a "genius"
We should be thinking about this because it is important to ourselves and our future. This "good enough" in our local learning environment can allow us to succeed and be leaders in the future. This means that we can prepare for the future.

jerraco johnson said...

The first thing we must do is not just go to classes and go through the motions. We need to come prepared and ready to learn whatever it is on the agenda for that day. That means more than just staying awake and taking notes, but actually comprehending it.
Second, it would help if the instructors brought more energy and life to the classrooms. How much they want to be there effects how much we participate and how much we want to be there.
For example, in two of my classes I arrive fifteen minutes early just anticipating the amount of fun I'm going to have because my instructors are so energetic. In the other few I'm barely on time, and halfway through the class I am half asleep.

Quiandez McAfee said...

I really enjoyed this chapter. One thing I noticed in America we tend to base intelligence with looks, how you dress, how you act around others but the truth be told you can be the most intellectual person and no one may realize it. But i don't think testing is really a good indicator though.

paintballer99 said...

Nile Hamer

First off, going to class is one thing, but actually paying attention, coming to class having done the reading and having understood the topics being discussed will allow for a better experience.

Secondly, teachers have to be more open to the newer methods and techniques of learning. Technological advances have been made in today's day and age, so I feel that teachers need to be more open about how students learn and how they receive and how they digest it.

Robert Dammer said...

The first thing we need to worry about is making sure we keep up with the work in a class. That means doing assignments, taking notes in class, and going over the material outside of class. This is the core of any academic venture. If we simply do not do the work, we cannot gain enough of an education to become anything. It's as simple as not being lazy. The second thing we need to worry about is attendance. We have to go to attend our classes zealously so that we can make sure we're getting the right information out of the books we read. Teachers and professors are there to do just that. If we try to rely only on the work we do outside of class, we will either overload ourselves with too much information and go beyond the "good enough" ideal to the point of being detrimental, or miss out and fail to reach the "good enough" ideal. We should be worrying about this now because, simply put, we should always worry about them. We should always been concerned that we are applying ourselves to all of our endeavors and learning from those who have gone before us to make sure we are taking the right path.

Bria Lynch said...

The first thing that we need to be thinking about if we want to ensure that our local learning environments are "good enough" is having a positive environment with a reasonable amount of student interaction. If an environment is negative and full of students that are not interested in learning, there is little motivation to become successful.

We should try to focus on not only test scores but overall progress as well. Some 'geniuses' are very skilled in test-taking while others tend to struggle in this aspect of learning. So one cannot always infer level of intelligence based solely on test scores.

Derreck H said...

To be good enough, I would say you need to at least "care" about what your doing. It is common for students to be in a class they may need to advance in a course, however, because that course isn't apart of their primary goals, they shove if off as a "its not that important class". Once a person cares about what they're doing, this must follow through with their goals. Myself and other students constantly plan an event or future goal that they either put off till later or dismiss it completely.
Once we master these techniques, us as a community can become not just good enough, but more adequate and prepared.

Ricky Mahajan said...

The two things we should be thinking about are the quality of the teachers, and the quality of the material being used. Even the brightest student needs a teacher to blossom their ability. Without strong material the teacher can not blossom anything. And even the weakest learner will be able to learn if the material and teacher quality are good. We should be thinking about those types of things now because the world is changing and all the schools in the world are surpassing the USA schools. The best youth will run the world that is changing and we no longer are seen as the best youth.