Outliers Synopsis 


Everybody knows who Bill Gates is, a pretty scrawny looking guy with glasses who's a freaking billionaire that invented Microsoft. Everybody also knows who the Beatles are, an English rock band that formed in Liverpool. We all know these two because they were so successful and popular. Okay so, have you ever wondered how they became so successful and popular? Well first of all, Malcolm Gladwell talks about the, '10,000 hour rule'. This rule is basically saying that in order to master or perfect anything, you'll need to be able to commit at least 10,000 or your precious hours to it, or 417 days 24/7. Bill Gates was a man who was able to achieve this. Throughout high school and college he spent more of his time on a computer than his classes. He became a professional at computer programming and was able to make a software program called Microsoft, allowing him to make billions making him an extremely successful man. 

The Beatles, is an English rock band that formed in Liverpool, UK. The band consisted of, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They were regarded as the most influential bloody rock band in the era. Like, Bill Gates, they too went through that 10,000 hour rule. They started playing in music clubs in Hamburg, which at the time did not have rock and roll music clubs. People loved them and they ended up playing at the clubs hour after hour, non-stop. They ended up playing 7 days a week, almost 8 hours a day and most of times until 2 am. They continued to grow and became well known in various countries, making them filthy rich English men. 

Malcolm Gladwell explains the importance of the 10,000 hour rule in order to become good or successful at something, but he also emphasizes the importance of 'pure luck'. Bill Gates would not have had the same outcome if he had not lived at Lakeside in 1968. And the Beatles would not have had the same outcome if they had not been randomly chosen to play in Hamburg. Although practice is very important, becoming successful can be based on pure luck as well.