his theories are overly simplistic Sure; he is basically writing popular science, for which conceptual simplicity is a key requirement. some of the things he

his theories are overly simplistic Sure; he is basically writing popular science, for which conceptual simplicity is a key requirement. some of the things he studies ... [are] very important and well done research could have wide ranging positive influence. Sure, but there is no shortage of real social science research on the topics Gladwell writes about -- in fact, much of his writing takes the form of summarizing and selecting from the actual research done in the field. This research is rarely presented in a way that is interesting or approachable to the general public -- but you're free to go read a more rigorous discussion if you want to. Apparently most people are content with Gladwell. Gladwell proves himself as not a scientist Gladwell is absolutely not a scientist, but I don't think he is trying to be one, or would claim to be one.