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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Joy cheat a program to obtain?

2. Who is Chris Langan?

3. Who is Anders Ericcson?

4. What does Gladwell delay discussing until the next chapter?

5. What does Gladwell address before he finishes the story about Chris Langan?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Gladwell assert about intelligence and what analogy does he use?

2. What does having a high IQ give a person?

3. What does IQ stand for and who developed a test to measure it?

4. What are the unusual circumstances in the timing of Bill Joy's career in computer programming?

5. Who is Bill Joy and what did he do?

6. What experiment does Lewis Terman carry out beginning in the 1920s?

7. What is the origination of the title of this chapter, "The Matthew Effect"?

8. Who is Chris Langan?

9. Describe Canada's system of amateur hockey leagues.

10. What does Gladwell say a surface examination of the Canadian hockey league system would suggest?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Chapter 5 is called "The Three Lessons of Joe Flom." Joe Flom is a partner in a very successful New York law firm.

1. Discuss, in depth, the three lessons of Joe Flom. Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

2. How do you think the lessons of Joe Flom might relate to the idea of fate or destiny? Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

3. Do you think Joe's success, in his circumstances, was because he was Jewish or do you think any discriminated against minority might have fared the same? Why or why not? Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Kentucky is settled by people who come from a "culture of honor." Back in Britain, they are herdsmen and herding cultures worldwide have commonly developed such a culture, Gladwell explains. In a culture of honor, loyalty to one's family or clan is the most important thing. People from this background are driven to defend their families and are quick to respond to any perceived threat.

1. Discuss what a culture of honor is in your own words. Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

2. Do you think honor can be a good value if used properly? Why or why not? Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

3. What do you think are the dangers in too much loyalty to one's family or a over blown sense of honor? Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Outliers belongs to the non-fiction genre. Discuss the following:

1. Define the literary term "genre" and give several examples of three other genres in addition to the non-fiction genre.

2. Discuss two reasons why it might be useful to label a text by genre and two reasons it might be disadvantageous to label a text by genre.

3. What do you think is the difference between a non-fiction and a novel?

(see the answer keys)

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