Mallory Weiner

The Injustice in Measuring Success by Numbers

In first grade Timmy Smith was asked to take a placement test that would
determine whether or not he would be moved up to the advanced math course. Timmy
didnt realize it yet, but he was being thrust into a competitive world where maintaining
high grades and being the most intelligent is said to ensure his success. Timmy scored
thirty-three points higher than his best friend Ryan, which separated them both in the
classroom and in the intelligence ranking. In Malcolm Gladwells Outliers: The Trouble
with Geniuses, Part 1 he makes the argument that success can easily be measured; what
Gladwell does not do is take into consideration other factors that determine success, he
cherry-picks all of his examples to back up his story, and he pretends to acknowledge the
other side of the argument, tricking readers into thinking he is being fair.
As early as age six, students are judged based on their aptitude, even though they
have at least twelve more years of education ahead of them. It seems quite harsh that a
six year old would be dragged away from his classroom in order to be trained in a more
advanced way, preparing him for competition in later schooling and job opportunities,
solely because he scored higher on a basic mathematics test. Math is not the only test
that places students higher on the totem pole than others; there are a number of
standardized tests that determine the success of a student based on a number. Students
who learn to read more quickly or can multiply easier than others are expected by many
to become more successful, but there are kids who might not have an easy time reading
or multiplying, but work hard, becoming successful in a way no one imagined.

There is no way to tell whether someone will be successful, especially at an early

age. While it is amazing that a child can pick up on things so quickly, this has no
correlation to their success. To some experts, however, this cleverness is what they
believe to be the key to a world of achievement: There is nothing about an individual
as important as his IQ (Gladwell 75). It is apparent that Malcolm Gladwell and
others involved with Outliers believe that intelligence is of the utmost importance,
however that is not always the case. It might be true that a kid who learns the alphabet at
nineteen months old will grow up to be a successful lawyer or some other astounding
profession, but intelligence isnt the only factor for success. Hard work is a key factor for
success. A child can put in the work it takes to get all As, studying every night and
reading textbooks multiple times. When kids decide they want to be successful they
become determined. When they want something they go after it. Not every kid is like
this, which means not every child will end up with the same success as others. A number
on an IQ test measures nothing about determination and drive, and it can therefore not be
considered valuable in the course of determining success.
Its not always appropriate for a writer to give only his opinion because readers
may want to be able to come to their own conclusion, not be given one by what they have
read. If readers of Outliers expected the opportunity to formulate their own opinion, they
would have been sadly disappointed. Gladwell carefully picked examples that would
back up his point of view. He skewed readers opinions; the facts given presented only
one side, forcing the reader to come to the same conclusion.
Gladwell could have easily found a story about an average boy who worked hard
to become successful, but he chose the story about a boy who is naturally smart: In

school, Langan could walk into a test in a foreign language class, not having studied at
all, and if there were two or three minutes before the instructor arrived, he could skim
through the textbook and ace the test, (Gladwell 71). What Gladwell is trying to show
through this story is that success is determined on the amount of intelligence a person has
and that working hard has no correlation to success. Nowhere in the book does Gladwell
make any reference to a story of someone who had to work hard to do well. Gladwell is
smart. He knew what he was doing when he chose to only pick answers that would
support his argument. If he had presented stories that show hard work can also contribute
to a childs later success, readers would have had another side to consider.
Not only does Gladwell try to persuade readers to agree with him by cherrypicking his examples, he also pretends to acknowledge the other side. This makes
readers think they have been told about what happens to those who are not as intelligent,
but what readers have really read is a collection of words that appears to have the
meaning of addressing the other side, but when the words are reread it is clear that the
other side of the argument of success is never mentioned. Gladwell carefully chose his
words to make it seem like at some point he was sharing an unbiased opinion: The
Trouble with Geniuses, Part 1, (Gladwell XIV). This is the title of the chapter in which
Gladwell talks about how intelligent people with high IQs become more successful. The
carefully selected word trouble makes readers think at first glance that the author is
going to say something that is wrong with geniuses or why they will be in trouble later in
life, but the chapter never says anything about what the trouble with them is.
At one point Gladwell starts to say that IQ only matters up to a certain point.
Many readers become excited by this statement because they think that finally Gladwell

is acknowledging the underdogs, but when the reader continues on they realize that what
is really being said is that after a child achieves the genius ranking on the IQ test, the
child has nowhere to go but stay constant. There might be a slight variation in numbers
for different child geniuses, but the numbers stop mattering because after a certain
point all anyone sees is that the child is smart enough to be considered a genius and
that is all that matters. A 120 and a 140 are almost equivalent according to Gladwell
because both these numbers are beyond average. Success and IQ, to Gladwell, never stop
having a correlation. The only thing that stops mattering is how high the number goes
after 120. Gladwell never recognizes that IQ may have nothing to do with success at all,
even if a childs IQ is 70, they still have the potential for success. Readers might not
understand this after reading this chapter because once they see the words theres a
catch they think that Gladwell is admitting to a second side of the story. He is not; he is
only furthering to explain why he is right.
Timothy Smith has now graduated college and is working as a contractor. He
makes the average income in the United States and lives in a modest home with his wife
and two young children. His best friend Ryan, who he still keeps in touch with, has
moved out of their small town and ventured to New York where he has a beautiful family,
a large, family sized apartment downtown, and a high paying job as a lawyer. Ryan
wasnt placed into advanced math in the first grade. He wasnt the smartest kid in school,
but he worked hard and showed everyone that degree of intelligence didnt stop him from
becoming successful. What made Ryan successful were characteristics that cannot be
measured motivation and determination.