Malcolm Gladwell and the Public Intellectual

Malcolm Gladwell

Football and Dogfighting

In late 2009, author Malcolm Gladwell released a New Yorker column titled "Offensive Game" in which he discussed how dog fighting and American football are more closely related than we may think.  Gladwell makes the argument that there is a small part of the American population that views dog fighting as a perfectly normal act; it has developed a culture that accepts the violence.  The average person finds this culture repulsive, because we love dogs almost as much as we love humans.  The author then looks at the recent studies conducted on the brains of former football players.  Research is beginning to show that football can cause severe brain damage due to the repeated concussive hits. 

Gladwell goes on to make the point that dog fighting and football share many qualities.  They both promote violence, they both have a devoted group of followers, and these followers see nothing wrong with the promoted violence.  He says:

There is nothing else to be done, not so long as fans stand and cheer. We are in love with football players, with their courage and grit, and nothing else—neither considerations of science nor those of morality—can compete with the destructive power of that love.

Gladwell’s “Offensive Game” column didn’t break any new ground on either dog fighting or football’s concussion problem.  There had already been studies conducted and reports written about the subjects individually.  What this column did do, however, is change the way the American public views its most popular sport.  When you take something universally loved and say how similar it is to something that is universally reviled, you are bound to raise some eyebrows.  In this case, people began asking the NFL what they are doing to prevent concussions and brain damage.  People also began to react less enthusiastically to plays such as this when they happen in real time.

The Power of the Public Intellectual

In “Offensive Game,” Malcolm Gladwell proved the power of the public intellectual.  He was able to make people question their beliefs on a subject they feel strongly about.  In his writings, Gladwell is able to cover a wide variety of topics ranging from the General Motors bailout to the search for cancer-curing drugs.  The author’s specialty is that he can take a narrow topic, make it relatable to the average person, and cause you to form an opinion on the subject.  For example, I have little knowledge of, and have little interest in, investment banking.  In "The Uses of Adversity," Gladwell is able to discuss Sidney Weinberg’s unlikely rise to power at Goldman Sachs.  He discusses how a man who was a complete outsider to the banking industry was able to make it to the top of the industry.  At the same time, the author talks about other successful people who were able to take disadvantages and turn them in their favor.  After reading the column, I had taken the author’s side that disadvantaged people need to be given chances to succeed.

In today’s society, it isn’t difficult to share your opinion with the world.  There are many people who can be considered public intellectuals.  However, these public intellectuals carry a responsibility to ask important questions and get people to think.  Blogger Stephen Mack raises the point in his 2007 post "The 'Decline' of Public Intellectuals?" that

if public intellectuals have any role to play in a democracy—and they do—it’s simply to keep the pot boiling. The measure of public intellectual work is not whether the people are listening, but whether they’re hearing things worth talking about.

Gladwell’s Power as a Public Intellectual

Malcolm Gladwell certainly discusses topics that are worth discussing.  The power of his writing is undeniable.  According to his bio, all four of his books reached the New York Times Bestsellers List.  In addition, Time Magazine named him one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2005. 

In his book The Tipping Point (2000), he was able to make people realize how easy it is to create change.  The book, at its simplest, is about how small changes can have huge consequences.  Gladwell’s

argument is that it is also the way that change often happens in the rest of the world. Things can happen all at once, and little changes can make a huge difference. That's a little bit counterintuitive. As human beings, we always expect everyday change to happen slowly and steadily, and for there to be some relationship between cause and effect. And when there isn't -- when crime drops dramatically in New York for no apparent reason, or when a movie made on a shoestring budget ends up making hundreds of millions of dollars -- we're surprised. I'm saying, don't be surprised. This is the way social epidemics work.

You can see how influential this book was when you compare the way information travels today to the way it traveled in 2000.  The rise of social media has made it very easy for one person to have a huge effect on the world.  When you look at the impact that social media had on the Arab Spring, you can see how epidemics can be created through a simple post. 

Gladwell’s next book, Blink (2005), focuses on our ability to read snap judgments.  It is essentially about first impressions and how much weight we give to them when making decisions.  One of the most insightful chapters of the book discusses a war game that America ran in the run-up to the Iraq war.  The game pitted the United States against a dictator who often makes rash decisions.  The US had significantly better weapons, intelligence, and manpower, but the dictator ended up winning the game, because he was operating on quick judgments.  After evaluating the war game, one concludes that more information isn’t always better than less information.  People have an intrinsic ability to make snap judgments – both good and bad.  Gladwell says that

With "Blink," I'm trying to help people distinguish their good rapid cognition from their bad rapid cognition.

Perhaps Gladwell’s most influential book is Outliers (2008).  In it, he talks about all the components that go into making a person successful.  This book caused people to take a look at whether we provide the conditions for people to reach their potential.  While the author clearly articulates that personal drive and ambition are extremely important, he also points out that

we vastly underestimate the extent to which success happens because of things the individual has nothing to do with.

Gladwell’s Worldview

If there is one underlying theme in all of Malcolm Gladwell’s writings, it is that we need to think critically.  The world very rarely operates in predictable ways.  Some of the richest people in the world are also some of the most risk averse.  Some of our favorite artists are late bloomers.  And David can occasionally beat Goliath. In order to make sense of these stories, we must ask questions.  That is the role that public intellectuals fill; they cause us to question the world around us.  They make us uncomfortable with what we have previously believed to be true.  This makes public intellectuals vital to building a successful community, because they question the status quo.  They are willing to ask the tough questions and make tough suggestions. 

Malcolm Gladwell has certainly lived up to his role as a public intellectual.  When you read his works, you can’t help but question the world around you.  He takes tough concepts and makes them relatable and easy to understand.  He also makes you want to share your new knowledge with your friends and family, which makes them question their beliefs as well.