Malcolm Gladwell has a new book out, which means that he’s so popular that the backlash will be automatic, a product of muscle memory more than genuine resentment. Though I do understand that there’s a bit of burning resentment and anger at anyone who has managed to write books that so well lend him to getting those $40,000 a speech consultant fees he can command. I can’t bring myself to be angry with him or jealous, though. Someone’s got to be pulling down that dough, and I’d prefer it if it were a cheeky, liberal-minded writer rather than the alternatives.
This is why I can’t help but like the guy: He’s reached the “automatic bestseller list” point in his career, and what does he choose to do with that automatic audience, many of whom are management wanks? He chooses to explain how yes, nurture is more important than nature when it comes to genius and success. This sounds very “duh” to us (think of all the reams and reams of academic work and blogging that can be boiled down to the word “privilege” alone), but believe me, it’s far from settled in the popular culture. I’m sure if you put it to a nationwide poll and asked if the great geniuses of Western civilization were almost all white and male until the 20th century, a majority still to this day would suggest that something about being white and male inherently inclines you to genius, instead of the much more likely answer, which is that the oppression of non-white people and women throughout said history means that their genius had little expression. And that even when it was expressed, history suppressed it.