Part 2

Gladwell defines achievement as: a. Talent plus preparation b. School smarts plus street smarts c. Hard work plus good grades d. People skills plus professional skills.

• Talent plus preparation

• School smarts plus street smarts

• Hard work plus good grades

• People skills plus professional skills

What did psychologist K. Anders Ericsson discover about the most successful violinists?

• They were disproportionately born in January, February, or March.

• Their parents had scored high on musical aptitude tests.

• They practiced much more than other students.

• They were mostly enrolled in private schools.

What was surprising about Ericsson’s study?

• The researchers couldn’t find any “natural” musicians who effortlessly achieved success.

• The researchers couldn’t find any students who worked harder than others, yet didn’t have what it took to reach the top.

• Both a and b

• Neither a nor b.

According to the findings of Ericsson’s study, after a student is enrolled in a prestigious music school, what is the greatest factor contributing to his or her success?

• The quality of the instrument he or she plays

• The credentials of his or her teacher

• Having a natural, innate talent he or she was born with

• How hard he or she works

About how many years does it take to become a world-class pianist, chess player, or any other prodigy? Why does it take this amount of time?

• 4 years--that’s how long it takes to complete high school

• 8 years--that’s how long it takes to complete both high school and college

• 10 years--that’s the average time it takes to obtain 10,000 hours of practice

• 20 years--that’s how long it takes to truly master a skill

Why is it so difficult to achieve a sufficient amount of practice to become an expert in something? What does someone need in order to obtain all these hours?

• People become bored, so they need to have a long attention span.

• It’s an enormous amount of time, so they need to have supportive parents, monetary resources, and a special program.

• No one wants to stick with something that long, so they have to have tenacity.

• Kids have too much homework, so they need to finish school early or drop out.

Why was it so difficult for individuals in the 1960s and 1970s to become computer programming experts?

• Computers didn’t even exist then.

• There was no internet connection.

• There were very few computer teachers.

• Computers were rare due to size and expense.

How was Bill Joy able to get so many hours of practice with computer programming?

• His rich father purchased him a personal computer.

• He snuck into the Computer Center and bribed a security guard.

• He went to a special computer camp for gifted children.

• He attended one of the first universities to switch over to time-sharing.

Why were so many of the bands playing in clubs in Hamburg, Germany from Liverpool, England?

• The German clubs paid better than venues in England.

• Many British musicians had relatives in Germany.

• A German club promoter happened to meet an entrepreneur from Liverpool who arranged to send some bands over.

• The musicians wanted to make amends between Britain and Germany after World War II.

What made playing in Hamburg a great opportunity for The Beatles?

• It was the hometown of the hamburger.

• The band was forced to play for an immense amount of time.

• The gigs paid well, the acoustics were amazing, and the audiences were appreciative.

• They were able to play in a foreign country where no one knew who they were.