"The Creative Process of Writing
is a Liberating and Therapeutic Experience"
www.virtualwritingcoach.com
October, 2009
In This Issue:
1. Preview
2. Publisher's Note
3. Outliers: The Story of Success
4. Helpful Hints
1. Preview
The Writer's Connection explores the creative process
of writing and the interplay between thoughts, feelings,
and actions. We are an interactive community of authors
and readers who share ideas to enhance our knowledge,
skills, and experiences in writing fiction in any genre,
but our emphasis remains mystery and suspense thrillers.
Published monthly, the Newsletter offers writing tips
for authors, coaching suggestions, editing, and marketing
information.
Topics are presented from the perspective of Keith Barton
and represent only his ideas on producing your first manuscript,
and are provided to the general public. Because we are
an interactive community of writers, other viewpoints
are welcomed and may be printed in future monthly newsletters
with permission from Keith Barton.
2. Publisher's Note
October, 2009
Dear Writer's Connection Subscriber,
This month's newsletter features:
Outliers: The Story of Success
3. Outliers:The Story of Success
Malcolm Gladwell of
Blink fame has written an epidemiologic analysis of why certain people
are more successful than others. It has less to do with IQ levels and more to do with one's
heritage, culture, and time of birth. It is a fascinating book that explains why all top
New York lawyers have the same resume, what the Beatles and Bill Gates have in common, and
the hidden advantages of star athletes (from the book jacket). Some examples follow.
Gladwell posits the "10,000 hour" rule-e.g. it takes 10,000 hours to be really good at
anything whether it's playing the guitar, programming on a computer, playing video games,
working math problems, or playing soccer. Above an IQ of 120, the 10k rule is more important
than IQ; thus a guitarist with an IQ of 160 plays no better than a guitarist with an IQ of
120; it really depends on how much work and effort one applies himself. This is true with Bill
Gates and his hanging out at the computer lab at 13, the Beatles playing in Hamburg, Germany,
at 14 years of age, before their meteoric rise in Liverpool, England and America, or Warren
Buffett studying the stock market at an early age, all easily putting in at least 10k hours
of work (about five years of working full-time on one project only).
Gladwell suggests that for elite colleges they would do just as well using a lottery system if
95% of their student applications are from valedictorians who score above 1500 on the SAT (1600 max).
For example, Harvard only accepted 7% (1600) applicants last year who had nearly identical high school
records. To say that the remaining 93% who were rejected was due to something other than academic merit
is pure dishonesty. Instead of measuring IQ in a western concrete sequential learning environment where
rote memory and convergent thinking is important (as in medical schools with rule outs to arrive at a
diagnosis), what if convergent thinking were being tapped? Suppose students were asked: How many
different uses that they could think of for a brick and a blanket? Those who come up with more uses
are arguably more creative and abstract thinkers which might prove a more useful diagnostic for admissions
to a fine arts school.
When one is born is also important: those born in 1935
when the U.S. birth rate was the lowest, were too young
for service during WW II and instead went to high school
in the fifties, when our schools had some of the best
public teachers. These high school seniors later became
a cohort of college professors and educators who were
brilliant because they couldn't get the jobs they wanted
during the depression so they taught school. Another epidemiological
fact is that Jewish garment workers who emigrated from
Europe to NYC in the 30s later raised doctors and lawyers.
For example, a Russian tailor comes to America, takes
a needle trade and works in a sweatshop for a small salary.
He opens another shop, hires workers and begins to supply
several men's stores (following the 10k hour rule).
Another interesting chapter reviews Korean airline crashes
in the 70s with the 707 and 747 aircraft to find out that
culture was most responsible for the crashes because first
officers do not enjoy equal status and defer to the captain,
even if he is tired and confused in the cockpit.
In contrast, American pilots do not defer based on status
if an air disaster is imminent. There is more communication
and the captain and co-pilot
back each other up.
Gladwell relies on the research of a Dutch psychologist
in the 60s and 70s, Geert Hofstede who coined the term
"uncertainty avoidance" which is how well a culture tolerates
ambiguity. Those that are more reliant on rules and commands
are: United States, Ireland, South Africa, Australia,
New Zealand; those at the bottom of the list with more
ambiguity in the cockpit are: Brazil, South Korea, Morocco,
Mexico, and Philippines. Needless to say the NTSB recognized
this twenty years ago and all airline crews are trained
to back each other up and are equal in the cockpit regardless
of rank or experience.
Another interesting chapter describes how Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are more proficient in math which
has more to do with their language to describe numbers faster than English students. Also growing up in
southern China where one must feed one's family from a 450 square foot wet rice paddy allows one to be
more ingenious and work on the average 3000 hours annually compared to other countries who work much less.
Helpful Hints:
- Why do U.S. students perform more poorly at math and science compared to Asian students?
- Why is birthdate year an important variable in determining one's potential for success?
- When was the last time you spent 10,000 hours on only one activity? If so, what was your success?
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The Writer's Connection SM Mission:
The Writer's Connection
SM is dedicated to
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About Keith Barton, Ph.D.
Dr. Barton received his Ph.D. in 1972 from the University
of Texas at Austin and has been a practicing therapist
for over thirty years. He is currently enrolled in MentorCoach
and is accepting new clients.
He has been an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina,
consultant to Fortune 500 companies in executive development, founded
and managed Texas Community Living Ventures, Inc., in 1986 for providing
group home services to persons with mental retardation. Keith founded
and has been running a clinical practice in Northwest Houston since 1990.
He writes part-time with the goal of completing one novel
a year. His desire to coach others derives from his passionate
interest in helping others become attuned to their creative
powers of storytelling.
Dr. Barton has training in coaching, cognitive and family
therapy and health psychology. He has published articles,
made presentations and conducted workshops about:
Anxiety and achievement
Stress management
Self-esteem
Communication skills
Marital/relationship enrichment
Wellness issues
The relationship between psychology and spirituality
