Blog #5

The second part of Gladwell's book is called "The Theory Of Desirable Difficulty" and it begins with a chapter about dyslexia.  I have no doubt that there are scientists that will be frustrated with the brief description given for how dyslexia works and how brain scans have validated these theories. There are just way too many things Gladwell could have, and some may argue should have, said, but none of it would be relevant to the story. I think what he says is enough background to let the story makes sense. Then the chapter explains the difficulties dyslexics face. Gladwell argues that there are advantages to dyslexia, and says that many entrepreneurs, CEOs, and successful people have it and that there seems to be a correlation between people who overcome dyslexia and success. The rest of the chapter is filled with personal stories of successful people with dyslexia.

This chapter took me longer to read than the others and helped me understand why Gladwell is so criticized amongst many scientists.  It provoked me to think deeply about important issues.  However, I couldn't come to any provable conclusions about dyslexia, learning disabilities or any of the other issues the chapter touches on.  The stereotypical scientist doesn't like to think about something unless it gives him a concrete result.

It is interesting to think about dyslexia as a “desirable difficulty.” When you think of a difficulty, you think of something that will get in your way, something that will hold you back. When you think of a desirable trait, you think of something that will help you, something that will give you an advantage to getting where you want to get. Whether it is success in business, sports, or just personal success, an advantage is something that will give you a leg up in the competition. How can you combine those two and create a trait that may look like a problem on the outside but end up with a trait that ends up helping you. Gladwell uses a few different anecdotes to prove his point that there are such traits as “desirable difficulty.”

“ ‘The one trait in a lot of dyslexic people I know is that by the time we got out of college, our ability to deal with failure was highly developed.’ … Dyslexia – in the best of cases – forces you to develop skills that might otherwise have lain dormant. It also forces you to do things that you might otherwise never have considered, like doing your own version of Kamprad’s  disagreeable trip to Poland or hopping in the cab of someone you’ve never met and pretending to be someone you aren’t.”