Some people seem to have a very advanced
understanding of certain activities, events, trends or specific situations.
They seem to be able to make snap-judgment.
They are connoisseurs in specific areas (especially in Arts) who get so good at
identifying, analyzing specific situations or trends. A reputed museum housed a
piece of a famous statue made in marble. They had in-house experts who helped
immensely in the selection and procurement process to guarantee the genuinenity
of the piece. The statue was scientifically analyzed for its age, material,
origin and other critical parameters qualifying it be showcased to offer the
visitors a truly rewarding experience of Italian art in the US. One of the
visitors happened to have seen a similar statue elsewhere and was surprised at
the possibility of this museum being able to obtain another original copy. This
led to some background investigation by the museum curator. The special team
from the museum paid a visit to the city of its origin in Italy. There they met
one of the artists who expertise’s in the carving of this form of statues. His
examination of the copy in the museum revealed some differences compared to the
original form. One striking feature that stood out was the nose of the museum
piece as compared to the original form of carving. Was the museum piece a
well-made fake? This thought spend a chill down the spines of the curator and
the museum staff. The statue was procured for a hefty cost and a detailed check
to make it worth a certain US$ per visit. What explains the age of the statue?
What explains the color degradation of the marble? The Italian carver offered
the details on how fake’s market achieve this. The Italian carver was able to think without thinking in a Blink. This ability of rapid cognition
happens in many spheres of life by people who have gained such experience to be
able to deliver snap-judgments.
In a selected group of youngsters for a
sport, some seem to have an advantage due to their date of birth helping them
qualify for the group but gives them an advantage of almost 11 months compared
to the others in the group. This advantage of almost 11 months (close to an
year) in age and probably physical growth can affect their performance considerably.
Like in this case with certain persons lie outside
of the regular group, this situation occurs in other spheres as well. The term Outliers represents certain things,
events or phenomena that lie outside the
normal experience. The situations and/or events leading to the Outliers
phenomenon analyze the individuals circumstances combined with the personal
drive of in the involved individuals that have either lead to success or
trouble.
The above stories have a certain mystery
being unveiled. Malcolm Gladwell likes and specializes in unearthing the
possible reasons behind these happenings. He has written a series of book
focused on topics which seem to re-occur in the daily life around most of us
but don’t seem to have a clear explanation.
His books Tipping Point – How little Things can make a Big Difference, Blink – The Power of Thinking without Thinking, Outliers – The Story of Success bring these
stories with their hidden facets either of the individuals involved or the
circumstances.
You can follow more of his work, books and
his blog on www.gladwell.com. Happy
Reading!!!