Malcolm Gladwell is sort of a hero of mine. The combination of entertainment, inquiry, and simple curiosity his works embody match very well with my own attitudes towards life; his clarity of writing and accessible style serve as a model for my own.
I've read a few of his books on my own, and at least one (Outliers) for the sake of school; it is this one which indirectly inspired this post. One point Gladwell brings up early in Outliers is the question: How much do individuals' birthdays affect their success in life? He specifically examines this in terms of Canadian hockey players, in which it is apparent that the majority of successful players are born early in the year, closest to the January 1st age bracket cutoff date. At young ages, these players are larger and more coordinated, and thus receive more attention and better training (circularly driving their success).
Clearly, this is not the only area in which this question applies. Specifically: education. Do children with birthdays closest after the grade/age cutoff fare better in school?
I was born in early September, and have been one of the oldest of my class since elementary school. I've also been in different academic magnet programs since the 3rd grade. It makes me wonder - would I have been as successful without these advantages? Would I have been driven towards the resources and people that have helped me over the years? Would I have gotten into MIT, had I been born in July instead?
Maybe, maybe not. I'd like to think so, but it's hard to say.
The poll above was started by another student in the MIT Class of 2017 Facebook group, looking to quantify the same question. The statistical methods are a bit iffy, to be sure, and the data probably isn't complete enough to provide a full picture, but that's not really the point.
The fact that others are wondering, considering, asking questions that I want to ask? That's how I know that I have truly found paradise.
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