I just finished Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers.  Sacrificing a few days of library late fees to make notes and do research was well worth it.  My guess is that the library’s hold queue is going to continue to grow with this one.

Though I have enjoyed all of Gladwell’s books, this particular one hit me close to home.  I suspect it will have a similar effect on others.  Who doesn’t want to understand success?  Who isn’t looking for the Midas touch?  Success books might outnumber diet books?

Gladwell demonstrates how numbers can show us more about our world, our assumptions, our illusions and therefore, us.  I treasure his style which reminds me of James Burke’s Connections TV program.  Surprise lay around the corner of each page, and the amazing seems completely staid when Gladwell reveals the underlying back story behind the pattern.

The book is an example of how analytics and statistical research will likely redefine our world, one amazing hypothesis at a time.  It is also a worthy example of how numbers must be paired with logic, deduction, art and instinct to yield their treasured results. I think, Gladwell shows us how data alone gets us nowhere.  But with data, our intuitions can fly much further on the same effort.

• Outliers: The Story of Success
• Debate: Design, Analytics and Google
• James Burke’s Connections