Logos
Malcolm Gladwell employs logos to provide a factual and logical
base for his thesis. The entire book is made up of examples backing up his views on achieving success.
Professional hockey is Gladwell’s first outlet to prove his point. Mr. Gladwell provides a chart that gives the birthdays of a professional hockey team. On this chart, "seventeen out of the twenty-five players on the team were born in January, February, March, or April. This is due to the fact that the "cutoff for age-class hockey is January 1" in Canada. Because of this, players born closer to the beginning of the year
have more time to improve and mature than those born near the end of the year, giving them an advantage. Gladwell's point is that the success of people, in this case hockey players, is often determined by factors, such as age, that are un-controllable.
The next use of logos is the "10,000 hour rule". The rule states that extraordinary achievement requires 10,000 hours of practice and preparation. Gladwell gives examples such as "The Beatles" and "Mozart" that meet this criterion. However, he also states that people
that put in 10,000 hours have to have "some kind of extraordinary opportunity that gives them a chance to put in those hours.” furthering his point of success based on un-controllable circumstances.
Finally, Mr. Gladwell cites a study performed by Lewis Terman on children with IQs that "averaged over 140 and ranged as high as 200". This group of children was thought to have "potential for heroic stature". After following up with the children when they reached adulthood, he discovered that "few of his geniuses were nationally known figures". Through his findings, Gladwell's point that extraordinary opportunities are necessary for success is thoroughly proven.