Outliers & Red Theory Merlot
Have you recovered from the full series pairing? Me, neither. But on to the next!
The Pairing
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and Red Theory Merlot
I have the biggest author crush on Malcolm Gladwell (see also Tipping Point and Blink and his podcast Revisionist History). He's a storyteller teacher, which is my very favorite. Gladwell takes a concept and, in order to teach you about it, he tells stories that you can imagine or relate to. The reason I love this is not because it helps you learn the concept (although it does). Instead, I appreciate the pause when you are asked to see something very familiar from a completely new perspective. This shift in view seems to be Malcolm Gladwell's purpose in life.
Red Theory Merlot is perfect for this pairing not because it matches the sense of Outliers, but because it takes it to the next step. The tagline on this wine is "What's great in theory, tastes better in reality." What this pairing brings you is that sense that learning about success is nice and all, but the reality of success, the application of Gladwell's strategies, will feel even better.
I haven't paired a Merlot since The Red Tent, perhaps because of my fear that actual wine experts are rolling their eyes (yep, I'm ruined by Sideways). But... Merlot is good, damnit. This wine is sweet at the beginning and spicy in the back of your throat and that's just fine by me.
While I was reading Outliers, I was thinking about the fact that- according to Maxwell- I would need to spend 10,000 hours drinking wine in order to become an expert. That is also fine by me.
How can someone makes statistics and theories sound inspirational? I don't know, that's why Malcolm Gladwell has made all his money and I shop at Total Wine. But, for real, you should spend some time with one or more of his novels. I will leave you with one such inspirational moment in Outliers, in regards to why some people make it and some don't:
"No one—not rock stars, not professional athletes, not software billionaires, and not even geniuses—ever makes it alone."
The Pairing
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and Red Theory Merlot
I have the biggest author crush on Malcolm Gladwell (see also Tipping Point and Blink and his podcast Revisionist History). He's a storyteller teacher, which is my very favorite. Gladwell takes a concept and, in order to teach you about it, he tells stories that you can imagine or relate to. The reason I love this is not because it helps you learn the concept (although it does). Instead, I appreciate the pause when you are asked to see something very familiar from a completely new perspective. This shift in view seems to be Malcolm Gladwell's purpose in life.
Red Theory Merlot is perfect for this pairing not because it matches the sense of Outliers, but because it takes it to the next step. The tagline on this wine is "What's great in theory, tastes better in reality." What this pairing brings you is that sense that learning about success is nice and all, but the reality of success, the application of Gladwell's strategies, will feel even better.
I haven't paired a Merlot since The Red Tent, perhaps because of my fear that actual wine experts are rolling their eyes (yep, I'm ruined by Sideways). But... Merlot is good, damnit. This wine is sweet at the beginning and spicy in the back of your throat and that's just fine by me.
While I was reading Outliers, I was thinking about the fact that- according to Maxwell- I would need to spend 10,000 hours drinking wine in order to become an expert. That is also fine by me.
How can someone makes statistics and theories sound inspirational? I don't know, that's why Malcolm Gladwell has made all his money and I shop at Total Wine. But, for real, you should spend some time with one or more of his novels. I will leave you with one such inspirational moment in Outliers, in regards to why some people make it and some don't:
"No one—not rock stars, not professional athletes, not software billionaires, and not even geniuses—ever makes it alone."
Comments
Post a Comment