The Matthew Effect

When reading the book Outliers, I had come across many different and controversial topics. Many of which I had taken the initiative to do further research. But the topic that stood out most to me was that discussed in the first chapter of the book called "The Matthew Effect". In this chapter, Gladwell argues that success comes from what the individual knows and is capable of.

Throughout this chapter, I came to notice that Gladwell seems to challenge or go against the saying, "It's not what you

know, it's who you know." What I mean by that statement is that he argues successful individuals do NOT rise from nothing, but have certain qualities and mental and physical advantages. By using these advantages, the individual then uses these advantages to help them learn and work to understand things that others cannot.

After reading this explanation, I then asked myself the question, "Who could apply to this description on a real life basis?" The first person I thought of was the Boston Celtics SF Larry Bird. Larry Bird had grown up in a nice part of Indiana called West Balden Springs. He had both a father and mother, that had been by his side in whatever dream he had wanted to aspire. Also, his father and built a basketball court right in his backyard, giving him the advantage  to practice his skills, making him an all around better player. When he came into the NBA, many analysts had taken notice to not only his skill set with his shooting and dribbling skills, but his basketball I.Q was much higher than that of his teammates. Those who don't understand what I mean by that, it means he had made good ball distributing decisions on the floor in order  to not only put points on the board, but to set his teammates for open shots at the basket. So by making this connection, I came to support Gladwell's point of view on "The Matthew Effect".