Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers The author Malcolm Gladwell defines an outlier as “something that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body.” See my previous post on Gladwell’s tipping point here. In his bestselling book of essays on the topic, he focuses on the secrets of success for outliers. Based on…
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This essay is part of a series applying the principles outlined in Malcolm Gladwell’s essay collection, The Tipping Point, which examines the mysterious emergence of “social epidemics,” ranging from crime waves to fashion trends. As noted in the introduction, “Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do.” The following discussion applies…
Read MoreYouTube Skills Week: Juggling Juggling seemed like an achievable parlor trick as part of my YouTube skills week. I have reveled in the success of my other trick, a loud, piercing whistle with my thumb and index finger placed on my tongue, enough to call a cab or find my husband who has vanished into…
Read MoreCake decorating seemed like an easy choice in my quest to sample a new skill each day. My goal was not anything as elaborate as a wedding cake, rather a simple cake that didn’t feature my signature sloping, delaminated layers and disjointed frosting that looked more like road rash than a sleek and smooth layer. …
Read MoreThis fanagram is the second in a series about “YouTube Skills Week,” where I attempt to learn a new skill each day based on a YouTube video. The first focused on taxidermy. —————— You Tube Skills Week: Bread Making The second item on my You Tube Skills week, following taxidermy, is baking bread, which…
Read MoreAn unexpected change in summer vacation plans left me with a solo week of unstructured time. Although I have become quite skilled in puttering and frittering, I didn’t want to fall into the abyss of bad TV, cheap novels and cookie dough. I committed myself to a week of purpose and accomplishment. YouTube tutorials would…
Read MoreFifty years of solving the NY Times Crossword puzzles have blessed me with a peculiar vocabulary, but I also revel in their creative themes and clues. I settle in for Sunday breakfast, open the Times magazine and wonder how long it will take me to unlock the theme, obliquely hinted at by the title. One…
Read MoreI grew up in a gender-neutral household, the only daughter with five brothers. You might have thought my mother would have doted on her only daughter, but she never singled me out with any advice on what it meant to be feminine. She never said to me, “Oh, you look so cute in that dress,…
Read MoreMarketing Unplugged: Pot Pourri, Volume 2 Toothpicks I was surprised that the grocery store offered such a variety of toothpicks. I was experimenting with tater tots as a provocative appetizer at my grazing cocktail party, one of those affairs where if you stay focused and deliberate you can cobble together a decent dinner. The idea…
Read MoreI sit in the leather chair, feet outstretched on the ottoman, pillow on my stomach, book resting on top of that. I have a very limited view of myself, basically my hands and the outline of my feet inside a pair of socks. This is a welcome change from Zoom calls where the time spent…
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