We noted earlier that Malcolm Gladwell’s pop neuroscience theory has hit the baff wall, and now we find,
Not dissimilarly, the story of Malcolm Gladwell himself has taken off in ways that would have been difficult to predict. Once a journalist, he is now a phenomenon, revered and scoffed at in different quarters, somewhere between social scientist, motivational speaker and preacher-like source of consolation.
He plays one-man shows to packed theatres on both sides of the Atlantic; he gives talks to businessmen about subjects such as Fleetwood Mac, earning tens of thousands of dollars per speech; his books are automatic bestsellers. His work has coined an adjective – “Gladwellian” refers to a sort of nerdy and captivating formula, against which there has been an inevitable backlash. A website called The Malcolm Gladwell Book Generator mocked up fake Gladwell covers: “Blank”, one read, referring to his book Blink, “300 Empty Pages to Fill With Your Own F—ing Thoughts”.
Gladwell is often accused of stating the obvious.
Um, yeah. If you are flirting with materialism, but not quite ready to totally buy in, he’s there for you. Easier to see what it does for Gladwell than for you.
Back to science stories soon. Couldn’t resist these.