I am a big fan of Malcolm Gladwell, both his books (The Tipping Point and Blink) have set me on my heals and his articles in the New Yorker are almost always masterful. I just finished reading an interview between him and Bill Simmons and once again I am taken back by the number of profound truths he is able to express so simply. From the interview, which was done by email and further exemplifies Gladwell’s writing.

The (short) answer is that it’s really risky to work hard, because then if you fail you can no longer say that you failed because you didn’t work hard. It’s a form of self-protection….

Most of the psychological research on this is focused on why some kids don’t study for tests — which is a much more serious version of the same problem. If you get drunk the night before an exam instead of studying and you fail, then the problem is that you got drunk. If you do study and you fail, the problem is that you’re stupid — and stupid, for a student, is a death sentence. The point is that it is far more psychologically dangerous and difficult to prepare for a task than not to prepare. People think that Tiger is tougher than Mickelson because he works harder. Wrong: Tiger is tougher than Mickelson and because of that he works harder.

Everyone knows this subconsciously, but how many of us could get this out with the same strength and conciseness. One of my hopes is to write like Gladwell, in a way that is so blatantly profound, simple and to the point that readers can’t help but have A-ha moments.

Categories: Life in General, writing