Outliers

Alex is not showing off during his checkup. He is behaving much as he does with his parents—he reasons, negotiates, and jokes with equal ease.

additional IQ points doesn’t seem to translate into any measurable real-world advantage.

what truly distinguishes their histories is not their extraordinary talent but their extraordinary opportunities.

he didn’t assume that legacies are an indelible part of who we are.

If intelligence matters only up to a point, then past that point, other things—things that have nothing to do with intelligence—must start to matter more.

Hard work is a prison sentence only if it does not have meaning.

Once someone has reached an IQ of somewhere around 120, having

Their world—their culture and generation and family history—gave them the greatest of opportunities.

It is headquartered in the prestigious office building known as Black Rock.