Outliers: The Story of Success

This is Malcolm Gladwell's latest non-fiction on why successful people are successful. This book seems widely popular with a basic premise that success is more than raw talent, it is also a function of where you come from. He makes a point, though, that the environment around you will have a bigger impact than your raw talent which I have to disagree with. In doing this he seems to downplay the role of raw talent and I think that you need both the opportunity AND the talent to really achieve success(however you might define it). Overall the book has a pretty simple premise and he hits it home with stories of a Canadian soccer league, the non-successfulness of the super smart, and the stories of Gates and Jobs and their rise to success because of the opportunities and access to computers that they were fortunate to uncover. I think the point of this book is to call into question meritocracy, that success maybe more a function of random social norms and customs (hockey stars in Canada) or access to resources (thus leaving those without--even with raw talent--essentially doomed ). Although, really, the idea of success as only being a multi-billionaire might be an oversimplification. After all even the guy who he spotlighted has having the smarts but always running into road blocks in higher education seems somewhat content with life. Gladwell raises the question, was his talent ultimately wasted because of social norms and his childhood environment? If so, it is not exactly clear what sort of policy changes are needed. But if not, we have to accept the fact that super-smart people can be super-duds and still be content with themselves, and hey, maybe that is ok too. Afterall, if everyone is a super-star, no one really is.

Investing for Change by Landier &Nair

Good introduction to SRI with some thoughts on how to balance a portfolio while still be socially responsible. Might be a good reference for the future if I decide to buy individual stock. Otherwise I could just rely on mutual fund managers like TIAA-CREF's social choice fund. Maybe I will jump in soon or maybe I will wait for rock bottom--its got to come soon. With uncertain times, I don't know if SRI will really take off but I am hopeful. Be sure to check out www.socialinvest.org.