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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 Oppenheimer have difficulty with when he is young?

2. What was the leading killer of men under the age of 65 in the 1950s?

3. What is the name of the hockey team Gladwell examines in detail?

4. What does Langan display at a very young age?

5. What band does Gladwell examine in this chapter?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. When are most of Canada's best hockey players born, and why does Barnley think that is so?

3. What does Gladwell say Langan does not seem to be able to do?

4. Who is Chris Langan?

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

6. Why is the local physician's claim unusual, and what does Wolf decide to do?

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

8. Where is Langan at the time Gladwell writes his book?

9. How are students in the hockey leagues grouped and what is the way the children move into other leagues?

10. What does Anders Ericcson learn in a study he makes of musicians?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Gladwell makes a number of comparisons throughout his text. Choose one of the following to discuss:

1. Compare the way honor is seen in the southern United States to the way it seems to be viewed in the northern states. Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

2. Compare the difference between the cultural legacy of the United States and Colombia. Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

3. Compare the way that Oppenheimer handled criticism and problems with his behavior to the way that Langan did. Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Gladwell opens his book with a dictionary definition of the word "outlier." It is "something that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body," and also "a statistical observation that is markedly different in value from others of the sample." His first example of an outlier is the town of Roseto, Pennsylvania in the first half of the 20th century.

1. In your own words, give a definition of an outlier. Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

2. Discuss the reasons you think outliers are valuable for research purposes. Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

3. Explain, in your own words, why the town of Roseto, Pa. is an outlier and make-up another example of a town that would be an outlier. Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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