Malcolm Gladwell Answers Research Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED

In this segment, Malcolm Gladwell discusses the nature of research and the reliability of Wikipedia. He compares Wikipedia's collaborative approach, which includes both experts and enthusiasts, to the more traditional expert-driven entries found in Encyclopedia Britannica. Gladwell acknowledges inaccuracies on his own Wikipedia page but praises the platform for its usefulness as a starting point for research. He also addresses the continued relevance of libraries, emphasizing their role in serendipitous discovery and the expertise of librarians, which contrasts with the more directed search capabilities of the internet. Additionally, Gladwell touches on the nostalgia associated with McDonald's fries, explaining how a change in cooking oil in the 1980s altered both taste and health implications, and he delves into the '10,000-hour rule' from his book 'Outliers,' which posits that significant practice is necessary to achieve expertise in complex fields.

This paragraph delves into the importance of skepticism when conducting research online and the challenges of verifying information. Gladwell suggests that while Google is effective for straightforward factual queries, more complex questions require deeper investigation. He also discusses the difficulty of checking facts when the source used for verification may not be trustworthy. Moving on, he addresses the question of what predicts success, suggesting that having a rich parent is a significant factor, but also acknowledges the multifaceted nature of success, which includes luck, good fortune, and social support. The paragraph includes insights into the writing process, with Gladwell recommending persistence beyond initial boredom and the importance of multiple drafts for refining written work. He also explores the reasons behind smart people making poor decisions, often tied to a desire to avoid appearing foolish, and defines 'bad science' as research conducted by individuals with a predetermined outcome in mind, using John Lott's gun research as an example. Lastly, he touches on overcoming confirmation bias and the importance of considering a broader range of data.

Gladwell begins this segment by discussing a podcast episode that examined why country music tends to be emotionally evocative, attributing it to the specificity and complexity of its lyrics. He then shifts to the topic of research methods before the advent of the internet, advocating for the use of libraries and direct communication with knowledgeable individuals as effective strategies. Responding to a question about intelligence failures, Gladwell uses the example of 9/11 to illustrate how crucial information can be overlooked amidst a vast amount of data. He also defends Philip Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment against accusations of fakery, explaining its purpose and the controversy surrounding it. Additionally, he discusses the concept of 'broken windows' policing and its role in maintaining order. The segment concludes with advice for a listener struggling to find primary sources on paranormal phenomena, suggesting that firsthand research and personal accounts are the most viable approaches in such a niche area.

In this final paragraph, Gladwell references his 'Revisionist History' episode 'A Good Walk Spoiled,' which discussed a study finding a correlation between CEOs' golf playing and their companies' performance, suggesting that excessive golfing may indicate a lack of focus on business. He also responds to a question about having numerous tabs open on a computer, sharing his personal habit of keeping between 10 to 15 tabs and the idea of using tab count as an interview question to gauge a candidate's interests. Lastly, he addresses the behavior of going down research tangents instead of writing, likening it to enjoying oneself and not necessarily viewing it as a negative, as long as it contributes to the overall research process.