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Pam Zappardino |
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| Author speaks of talent unrealized |
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| By Pam Zappardino, In the Arts |
Friday, October 09, 2009 |
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PAM ZAPPARDINO PHOTO
Malcolm Gladwell illustrates a point from his talk on his book “Outliers” at McDaniel College Tuesday.
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He had me at “stupidity constraint.”
I’ve been hearing about the books “Blink,” “The Tipping Point” and “Outliers.” Seems everyone but me has read at least one. So when I got an invitation to hear author Malcolm Gladwell speak at McDaniel College Tuesday, I figured I’d go see what all the excitement was about.
He took the stage in a casual Nike pullover and jeans, not quite what one might expect of a world-renowned writer and journalist, someone named one of the world’s most influential people by Time magazine. Then he started to talk. His face lit up and his enthusiasm for his ideas took over. It was contagious. Soon, everyone there was hanging on to every word.
Gladwell talked about “Outliers” and what he calls capitalization rates. That’s the percentage of people capable of doing something who actually end up doing it. For example, there are millions who have the capacity to be artists, yet so few become artists. Gladwell asks why capitalization rates are so low, and he is curious about what keeps them down.
His research suggests there are three things that, in general, make the difference between those who are able to realize their capabilities and those who do not. The first is poverty and the myriad social problems that flow from it. The second, and this is where we came in, is the “stupidity constraint.” Our systems are full of structures and rules that are, well, stupid. They really don’t make sense but we use them anyway. And these rules often keep folks from being able to make the most of their talents. And then there are attitudes. This one should be obvious, but often it isn’t.
In our culture, Gladwell noted, when we see group differences in achievement, our impulse is to attribute it to some hard-wired, fundamental trait. But capitalization shows us it isn’t about something fundamental. It’s about poverty, stupidity and attitudes. We can change these things. He also mused that schools should not be adding one more obstacle by virtue of rules that don’t make sense.
As Gladwell answered questions, I thought about my early experiences with art. Drawing is not my strong suit. In fifth grade, frustrated with failing grades for prescriptive drawings, I gave up, decided I couldn’t do art, and didn’t look back for several decades. Having now become an artist who still can’t follow prescriptive rules I saw myself in Gladwell’s comments.
Success is a function of the choices we make as a society and of the opportunities we offer people. The arts depend on our expanding them
“What a big deal this is for all of us,” McDaniel Professor Skip Fennel said in introducing Gladwell. Indeed.
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Pam Zappardino teaches art appreciation. Reach her at artzap@aol.com.
More Information
For more information on Malcolm Gladwell visit, www.gladwell.com.
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