Social Commentary
Quick Reviews: Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers
Jan 18th
Outliers is a typically engaging and thought-provoking work from Malcolm Gladwell. His case studies make a compelling case that cultural conditioning, personal commitment, and timing are critical determinants of success that are typically overlooked in favor of celebrating unique talent.
We look at the young Bill Gates and marvel that our world allowed that thirteen-year-old to become a fabulously successful entrepreneur. But that’s the wrong lesson. Our world only allowed one thirteen-year-old unlimited access to a time-sharing terminal in 1968. If a million teenagers had been given the same opportunity, how many more Microsofts would we have today? To build a better world we need to replace the patchwork of lucky breaks and arbitrary advantages that today determine success – the fortunate birth dates and the happy accidents of history – with a society that provides opportunities for all.
The book suggests an updated version of Horatio Alger’s stories, in which broader social awareness of trends and opportunities can help more Bill Gates (and Malcolm Gladwells) rise to the surface. In light of our flattening world and the decline of generational mobility in the United States, it would help to set aside the ideal of individual genius and recognize the support systems that allow genius to flourish.
I Hate My Mobile
Nov 24th
I begrudgingly bought my first mobile phone in 2000 after my boss dictated that I be accessible while traveling. Despite my resistance, I’ve generally come to accept and mostly enjoy having a cell phone. But for a ubiquitous communication tool, it amazes just how bad the mobile telephone experience still is.
Why is it that, in 2006, cell phone reception from my close-in urban house still sucks? How can it be that I can still have voice mails disappear into limbo for days? Why do calls still drop along Mo-Pac, the second busiest stretch of highway in Austin? And, most importantly, how is it not possible to block specific numbers from calling my mobile number?
On Tuesday, I fell victim to SMS spam for the first time. It started in the afternoon, when my phone starting buzzing every few minutes. A 347 area code number kept popping up, each time sending a text message. There was a pause after the first dozen, but then the floodgates opened and I was deluged with 46 repetitions.
I called Cingular, who’s only answer to the problem was to completely shut off my SMS service. I guess they never heard the old Henny Youngman bit …
Patient: Doc, it hurts when I do this (lifts arm).
Doctor: So don’t do that!
Audience: Hilarity.
… because they weren’t laughing when they said it. All of a sudden, all the IT flunkies who ever told you to reboot looked like diagnostic geniuses compared to Cingular.
Now I’m stuck in no-text hell, partly to avoid further irritation, but mostly because I’m too lazy to have Cingular turn the damn service back on.
Did I mention, I hate my mobile.
Downer Ballot
Nov 7th
It’s election day, so I’ve had one eye on the election coverage to see if W. gets the mid-term smackdown he has coming. Somewhat belatedly, I just finished Richard Clarke’s 9/11 tell-all “Against All Enemies,” sufficiently frothing my ire to vote against those who would sell a failed personal vendetta as successful counter-terrorism policy.
For better or worse, Lloyd Doggett has been un-re-gerrymandered back into my district (or is that vice versa?). Upside: I get to vote for a solid Dem that I like. Downside: No real Congressional protest vote for me. The best I could do was pee in Kay Bailey’s breezy sashay back to another Senate term.
Perhaps I’ll take some solace in the fact that my Governor will be elected with over half of the votes going against him. But it’s no real comfort to know that those anti-Perry votes either went to a bland sacrificial Democrat, a tactless and content-free independent, or a woman who changes her name and party affiliation more often than her hairstyle.
Months ago, I thought it would be good to have a big crowd rocking the political boat, maybe take Perry down a notch or two with a shrewdly-timed broadside. Instead we get Strayhorn spinning cycles trying to get herself listed as “Grandma” on the ballot while Kinky treats the campaign trail like an audition for the Redneck Racist Comedy Tour. (truthfully, I think Kinky’s more of a candidate for the Politically-Unfit Jackass Comedy Tour, but that doesn’t rhyme)
Otherwise, voting was little more than an excuse to spin the “hi-tech” dial across a slate of unchallenged judges and dubious bond propositions. A reminder, if ever one was needed, what a fragile sham construct our hyper-segmented form of democracy truly is. I hardly think that a litany of unopposed races and ballot initiatives shielded behind trite marketing slogans matches the Founders’ vision of representative democracy.
If my vote is my voice, today’s response to six years of deception and mediocrity should have been a scream of outrage blasted in the face of the crooked and complacent. But all they got was a hushed “you suck,” mumbled under my breath.
Update: At least some other parts of the country had the option to voice their dissent. Democracy does indeed require a perspective beyond your own ballot.
misplaced priorities
Oct 17th
When the Houston Astros defeated Atlanta after an 18-inning marathon, little did anyone suspect that the game’s length would be only the second most interesting record set that evening. Houston fan Shaun Dean caught the winning homer, which complemented the grand slam ball he had caught 10 innings earlier. In the most unlikely of scenarios, the same fan caught two home run balls in the same game.
With all the homers churned out during this era of live balls and juiced players, you wouldn’t think home run balls would be a hot commodity. But this is also the era of the collectible anything, so somewhere, someone is willing to pay big bucks for the right home run memorabilia. It might not be Mark McGwire’s 62nd home run ball (a relatively poor investment given the home run derby years that followed), but same-game dingers from a Divisional Series victory might net a tidy sum from the right Astros fan with more money than sense.
It’s in this environment that the Baseball Hall of Fame approached Shaun Dean about reclaming the balls for a special exhibit in Cooperstown. Dean, in return for signed jerseys and paid trips, relinquished the dual dingers for posterity. His willingness to part with the unlikely trophies netted this gushing from Hall of Fame representative Jeff Idelson:
“Think about trying to find anybody who caught two home run balls in the same game, and I don’t think you can find anybody,” Idelson said. “Put it in the context of the historic game played here, and it’s really amazing. Shaun’s gesture is the ultimate act of selflessness.” [emphasis added]
Dean was originally going to keep the balls as souvenirs for his son, and I would respect someone keeping commemorative items when they have such a personal association with the event. So it’s cool that he is willing to turn them over to an establishment representing the game itself, so that others may enjoy the story for years to come. It shows a non-monetary appreciation of sports that is being smothered by loudmouth late-night hucksters on home shopping networks.
But Jeff Idelson, and perhaps a few other cronies at the Hall of Fame, need some perspective drummed into their tiny heads. Returning a couple of $2.89 baseballs, no matter who hit them and when, is not the ultimate act of anything, except perhaps normalcy. Grandiose assessments of selflessness are normally reserved for people who die for the good of another, not those who donate sports equipment to a museum. Soldiers and cops pay the ultimate price for far less gratitude than the Hall of Fame has shelled out to the Dean family, and with far fewer column-inches devoted to their plight. Jeff Idelson better hope he never needs someone else’s ultimate act of selflessness to save his hide, lest he get pelted with baseballs when he needed a heart transplant or a grenade cover.
Quick Reviews: Craig Ferguson’s American on Purpose
Feb 18th
Posted by wae in Books
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For once it’s nice to read about a celebrity who experiences success and notoriety after their bout with drugs and alcoholism. I love Ferguson’s humor, and am only slightly disappointed that more of it doesn’t come through on the page. His personality comes across best when the story is rooted in Scotland, physically or metaphorically.
As youthful debauchery transitions into growing celebrity, it is perhaps inevitable that the book loses some of its anarchic self-awareness and slips into something of a procedural for unlikely success. But I found it impossible to stop reading this breezy and engaging story, spun with an outsider’s perspective that avoids many of the usual tropes of an American rags-to-riches tale.
Genuinely moving and insightful, the book serves as reminder to follow your interests, even (or especially) when they lead to unfamiliar territory.