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He writes big, popular books making grand, confident claims about the world, and purporting to back them up with scientific evidence. Experts in the fields he d
by retsibsi 5y ago
He writes big, popular books making grand, confident claims about the world, and purporting to back them up with scientific evidence. Experts in the fields he draws from regularly point out significant errors (or misleadingly selective presentation of facts) in his work. The Igon Value thing is a reminder that his work is more a storyteller's patchwork than a researcher's synthesis. (You'll say it's obvious that he's not a researcher; maybe, but some pop-non-fiction writers have more of a researcher's mindset than others. They might not be true experts but they read deeply in search of the truth.)
- tptacek 5y agoI mean, it's certainly true that he's not the most rigorous of the pop nonfiction writers! That's not so much the draw, I don't think, but I can't fault you for being annoyed that people behaves as if it was --- perhaps Gladwell himself included.