Portland Man Tries to Do That Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 Hours Thing

Dan Duray — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:22:47 -0400

A 31-year-old Portland man has decided to dedicate six years of his life to golfing in an effort to test a theory from Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers — the one that says spending 10,000 hours practicing any skill will make you a professional. Dan, the soon-to-be pro golfer, says it's an experiment. It's also a vague Nike promotion and a book bid. There's a lot to dislike here.

Dan chose the sport arbitrarily; he would have been fine with spending 10,000 hours on just anything. "People who study expertise say no one has done quite what Dan is doing right now," says the St. Petersburg Times story. Here's a handful of other representative sentences, each beginning a new paragraph.

He has started five novels.

"Dan's always been an ideas guy," his brother, Matthew McLaughlin, said.

Dan Googled him.

Everybody asks him what he shoots for a round. He has no idea.

Failure?

Is this like that scene in Blazing Saddles where the sheriff holds himself hostage? We give in! Here's your book deal! Just please stop making yourself play golf.

Observer » Portland Man Tries to Do That Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 Hours Thing

Portland Man Tries to Do That Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 Hours Thing