Outliers!

I just finished the first disc of OUTLIERS, and I am so psyched to hear the rest. The idea of the only way to become a genius athlete/scientist/musician/etc is to have 10,000 hours of practice under your belt is really interesting. On the one hand, it shows how in control each individual is of his or her own destiny: in a study Gladwell cites, it was consistently those who didn't practice enough who were amateur pianists, and those who were virtuosos were always those who practiced more hours.

On the other hand, Gladwell speaks at great depth about how to an equal extent our fates are determined by our pasts, even down to details like our birthdays. I'll weigh in further as I listen to more, but it's incredibly compelling. I especially like that Gladwell reads himself, since his way of thinking and pulling together information is so unique. He has a reassuring, mild voice, nice to listen to!