He said, She said

After reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and Mindset by Carol Dweck, I’ve come to the conclusion that these books, however in the same genre, are very different. One area they seem to disagree on is the issue of gender differences. Throughout Outliers, Gladwell seems to take the view that it doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or girl; anyone can be successful if they have enough talent and are given the right opportunities. However, in Mindset, Dweck addresses the difference between boys and girls, and she explains how these differences alter their lifestyles.

            

Throughout Outliers, Gladwell uses many different examples of people who have succeeded and how they did it. In these examples, he does not favor a specific gender. Sure he explains how Bill Gates, the Beatles, and several other prestigious male figures succeeded, but he never implies that these people would not have succeeded if they were not male. He simply says they had talent, they were given great opportunities, and they made the most of it. For example, the Beatles were given the great opportunity to play in Hamburg, and that allowed them to perfect their great talent. “All told, they performed for 270 nights in just over a year and a half… ‘They were no good onstage when they went there, and they were very good when they came back’” (Gladwell 50). This shows how lucky the Beatles were to be given an opportunity like Hamburg, but Gladwell never mentions anything about gender.

            

Later on in Outliers, Gladwell uses the stories of females to support his points. For example, in the chapter “Rice Paddies and Math Tests,” Gladwell explains his reasoning to why people from some countries are better than others. He says that it is because the persistency in their blood that is passed down from their ancestors who worked in the rice fields. To show an example of how this can affect a person’s math ability, he talks about Renee doing a math problem. At first she does not understand the problem, but “she keeps going and going and simply won’t give up” (Gladwell 245). Eventually, she gets the right answer, and Gladwell shows that a lot of people could be better at math if they would simply put more effort into it. By paralleling Renee to the “high math society,” it is obvious that Gladwell believes men and woman are of equal standard.

            

This is not the case in Carol Dweck’s Mindset. Dweck doesn’t necessarily think that they are different intelligently, but more in the way they think. For example, she says, “Many females have a problem not only with stereotypes, but with other people’s opinions of them in general” (Dweck 78). She goes on to explain why this happens. She says that boys are constantly getting criticized and constantly calling each other names, so eventually they just get used to it. Girls on the other hand are scolded very little compared to boys, so when they do get criticized, they think it must be true. Dweck says that even Frances Conley, “one of the most eminent neurosurgeons in the world,” lets comments from her colleagues “fill her with self-doubt” (79). Dweck then states that this is what explains the gender gap in math and science.

            

Moreover, after reading these two books, it is obvious that Gladwell and Dweck have different views on gender. It seems like Gladwell believes success has nothing to do with gender, but more on talent and the opportunities given to improve that talent, while Dweck addresses how the different methods of thinking may cause boys to surpass girls in some areas such as math and science. I understand both views, but I ultimately agree with Gladwell. I don’t think gender has anything to do with who succeeds, and I do believe that success is generated from talent, hard work, and opportunities. I believe Dweck is correct in saying that most girls dwell too much on other’s opinions; I just don’t think this affects their work. I don’t like to get criticized, but I still do fine in math and science. In fact, math is my favorite subject and chemistry is probably second. Therefore, although each outlook is somewhat understandable, I agree with Gladwell’s balanced view on gender.