Book review: What the Dog Saw
I like to read. Sometimes reading is such a pleasure and joy that I read with a big smile on my face. As an author myself I simply get a thrill out of reading another person’s wonderful work. Nothing is better when the good writing is combined with interesting facts. I read for pleasure but I also read to learn. Malcolm Gladwell is a brilliant writer and story teller. He is also a statistician. The combination is mindboggling – and successful. You know him from the best sellers, The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers. His latest book, What the Dog Saw, is a collection of his articles from The New Yorker.
The articles range from a diagnosis of the marvelous dog whisperer, Cesar Milan, to the talent-is-everything blindness that brought down Enron to the tale of serial killer profilers at the FBI. Each article brings a surprise. Each article almost always turns upside down your preconceived notions. Gladwell’s use of statistics is fascinating. Knowing that 5% of all cars spew out 50% of all pollution makes you wonder why those cars aren’t taken off the road. Knowing that some teachers achieve so very much more than others makes you wonder why the evaluation of teachers is not more scientific or even interesting to city governments. Why do we assume that a better university education almost always yields more talent or effectiveness? Why is the job interview a terrible way to judge a person’s potential contribution at work?
If you like reading to learn and if you like reading with a smile on your face, well, then, read this book.
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