Outliers

This chapter begins the section on “Legacy,” or how one’s background impacts their behavior, for both good and bad. While he notes the problem of stereotyping, the author also argues that culture has a long and tenacious hold on people. He introduces this with the example of a lengthy and violent feud in Harlan, Kentucky, between the Howard and Turner families. Small and perceived slights have induced severe attacks out of proportion to the original offense, in what sociologists refer to as a “culture of honor.” Such a culture often originates in hardscrabble mountainous areas that rely on raising goats and sheep. In this case, it came from the early settlers to this area, immigrants from the borderlands in the United Kingdom (where Scotland meets England, as well as the area around Ulster in Northern Ireland). As a result, a culture of honor is stronger in the Southern United States than it is in the overall culture of the country.

To demonstrate how strong such cultural influences are, Gladwell cites a study done with students at the University of Michigan. During the experiment, subjects had an ostensibly spontaneous interaction with someone who actually worked for the researchers.