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Well, that does it for me as far as non-fiction goes. Is it so much to ask to just be able to be a LITTLE bit lazy and believe something I read, without having
by waylandsmithers 13y ago
Well, that does it for me as far as non-fiction goes. Is it so much to ask to just be able to be a LITTLE bit lazy and believe something I read, without having to stay on the lookout for a complete tear down from an expert in the subject matter?
Maybe I'm just being naive, but I honestly feel betrayed by how badly one of my (perhaps now former) favorite writers twisted or conveniently ignored facts to make one of his essays more interesting.
- ghshephard 13y agoAh, welcome to the world of "Gladwell Deconstruction" - It's a pretty well known meme on HN - Calling out just how badly Gladwell distorts everything he writes just to make an interesting story/theme. He does it so well, though, that he's still one of my favorite writers. And, much like Wikipedia has taught us to realize that anything written down could be something totally bogus thrown up by a vandal, and therefore we should challenge (and look for citations) for everything, everywhere - Gladwell has taught us that just because something sounds good - doesn't really mean it actually is accurate/truthy.
- minikites 13y agoDon't worry, there is a single study on literally this that confirms that everything is actually okay. Just blink for 10,000 hours and it will solve all your problems. I agree with Merlin Mann's thoughts on Gladwell: http://www.kungfugrippe.com/post/205874392/surprise-surprise http://www.kungfugrippe.com/post/205874392/surprise-surprise
- Robin_Message 13y agoPersonally, I despise Gladwell for making me look like an idiot whenever I have quoted him. I came here just to find a place to post my standard Gladwell disclaimer: I can not anti-recommend Gladwell enough. He is anti-knowledge, convincing you that you know something when you actually understand it less well after reading than before.