Zoom Chat Today @ 1pmET
Especially when we are young, society doesn’t smile on the eccentric… the weirdo.
Schools and corporations prefer conformity, loyalty, and predictability over stubbornness, creativity, and brilliance.
Teachers tell us to sit down and be quiet… in other words, act normal. And even other kids tend to reward conformity and shun those who are different. Weird kids aren’t just underappreciated, they are often humiliated (and, in some cases, feared).
I recently talked with the author, Olga Khazan, staff writer for the Atlantic, about the topic. (You can listen to our full conversation here.) Khazan comes by her outsider status, by virtue of growing up a Russian Jewish immigrant in Midland, Texas.
The good news is that a free world still rewards creative thinkers. Indeed, being an outsider might be one of the best predictors for future success. And that’s what Khazan’s new book called "Weird: The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World" is about.
As Khazan writes, when adjunct psychiatry professor Arnold Ludwig “examined the lives of more than 1,000 eminent people—including Frida Kahlo, Jean-Paul Sartre, and John Lennon… he found that creative types, such as artists and writers, were more likely than, say, businesspeople to be considered ‘odd or peculiar’ as children…"
Often, odd kids grow up to be eccentric outsiders. Not everyone becomes John Lennon. Still, these outsiders often have brilliant contributions to offer employers—if only people would quit hiring the guy who wears the pressed suit and presents better during meetings and job interviews.
Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels.
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ZOOM CHAT TODAY: Today (Sunday) at 1pm ET, historian David Pietrusza and I will be hosting a 40-minute chat with Patreon supporters on Zoom. We plan to talk about the Spanish flu, as well as ideas for David’s next book. If you’ve got any questions, please bring them. If you’re a Patreon supporter (or would like to be), you can find the link to join us on Zoom, here. Thank you for all you do!
Listen to the latest podcast episodes ...
Shut-Ins with Katie Herzog
> Click here to listen online
Will Storr on The Science of Storytelling
> Click here to listen online
The Perks of Being a Weirdo
> Click here to listen online
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