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Malcolm Gladwell constantly makes up shit so I don’t see why this would be any different.

by teg4n_ 4y ago

garyrichardson 4y ago
He's an entertainer, not a scientist. His stuff is definitely entertaining and thought provoking, but he does make some "Gladwellian leaps" to gloss over some inconvenient facts to get to his ideas.
- ryantgtg 4y ago
  When I see the Gladwell hate threads, I usually conclude that I'm not quite smart enough to truly criticize him. I'm not an intense fan or anything, but I have read a book or two of his, many articles in the new yorker, and listened to some podcast eps. And, yeah, he's entertaining and thought provoking. His podcast endeared me to him since he genuinely seemed to enjoy it (I haven't listened in a couple years - not since WFH and not having to commute!).
  - geodel 4y ago
    Well, most of the criticism is not on charitable interpretation but like nitpicking isolated, out of context statements. 10K hours part is good example where people just jump on him for making this bullshit theory about anyone becoming expert by putting mindless 10,000 hours in any skill one wanted to acquire. But reading that book I never got impression that it is some kind of magic. What I find most funny is that a lot of people who find MG fraud can easily get hoodwinked with some other person/place/technology/thing if they just happen to like it.
tyjen 4y ago
Malcolm Gladwell is the quintessential professional sophist. I remember attempting to read 'Blink' after it was recommended, and I could not force myself to finish it. His (continued) popularity taught me a deep lesson regarding humanity at the time.
- lamontcg 4y ago
  My first impression of him was that he was an intellectual con artist.
JCM9 4y ago
Gladwell’s stuff can make for entertaining reading but he’s fundamentally at some level a writer looking for views and not a scientist looking to drill down on the details to fully understand something. A lot of what he writes sounds great but doesn’t really survive a deeper dive into the subject where his core arguments start to unravel as inconvenient details he glossed over or didn’t mention at all come to light. Not saying I still don’t sometimes read his stuff, but I take a big grain of salt when doing so. The sort of thing he’s getting flak for here is right up that alley… preaches about how working from home is terrible but forces his colleagues to adjust to his desire to not work from an office.
- mikkergp 4y ago
  I like your take on it and I'd add it's like his core motto is don't let facts get in the way of a good story. I think he's probably one of the world's best storytellers and I love his passion and how into his work he is, it's just a shame that he'll publish a good idea even if that idea doesn't ultimately pan out.
jamal-kumar 4y ago
I use one of his books to even out a broken chair I have.

Malcolm Gladwell constantly makes up shit so I don’t see why this would be any different.

by teg4n_ 4y ago

Malcolm Gladwell constantly makes up shit so I don’t see why this would be any different.

He's an entertainer, not a scientist. His stuff is definitely entertaining and thought provoking, but he does make some "Gladwellian leaps" to gloss over some inconvenient facts to get to his ideas.

ryantgtg 4y ago
When I see the Gladwell hate threads, I usually conclude that I'm not quite smart enough to truly criticize him. I'm not an intense fan or anything, but I have read a book or two of his, many articles in the new yorker, and listened to some podcast eps. And, yeah, he's entertaining and thought provoking. His podcast endeared me to him since he genuinely seemed to enjoy it (I haven't listened in a couple years - not since WFH and not having to commute!).
- geodel 4y ago
  Well, most of the criticism is not on charitable interpretation but like nitpicking isolated, out of context statements. 10K hours part is good example where people just jump on him for making this bullshit theory about anyone becoming expert by putting mindless 10,000 hours in any skill one wanted to acquire. But reading that book I never got impression that it is some kind of magic. What I find most funny is that a lot of people who find MG fraud can easily get hoodwinked with some other person/place/technology/thing if they just happen to like it.

tyjen 4y ago

Malcolm Gladwell is the quintessential professional sophist. I remember attempting to read 'Blink' after it was recommended, and I could not force myself to finish it. His (continued) popularity taught me a deep lesson regarding humanity at the time.

lamontcg 4y ago
My first impression of him was that he was an intellectual con artist.

JCM9 4y ago

Gladwell’s stuff can make for entertaining reading but he’s fundamentally at some level a writer looking for views and not a scientist looking to drill down on the details to fully understand something. A lot of what he writes sounds great but doesn’t really survive a deeper dive into the subject where his core arguments start to unravel as inconvenient details he glossed over or didn’t mention at all come to light. Not saying I still don’t sometimes read his stuff, but I take a big grain of salt when doing so. The sort of thing he’s getting flak for here is right up that alley… preaches about how working from home is terrible but forces his colleagues to adjust to his desire to not work from an office.

mikkergp 4y ago
I like your take on it and I'd add it's like his core motto is don't let facts get in the way of a good story. I think he's probably one of the world's best storytellers and I love his passion and how into his work he is, it's just a shame that he'll publish a good idea even if that idea doesn't ultimately pan out.

jamal-kumar 4y ago

I use one of his books to even out a broken chair I have.