Yes, I am still alive and I still plan to update this blog. This poor little blog needs a new post though, and I need to set myself reminders to write. I’m not sure what to write about now, but I just felt the need to update, so my blog wouldn’t feel abandoned I guess, lol.
I just found and installed a cute new widget for the blog, “Now Reading.” I actually saw it on husband’s blog (john.nachtimwald.com) first, but I thought it might add to my blog too, so I copied him. On the right hand side, it’s the little part that shows books I’m currently reading, books I’ve read recently, and books I plan to read. I’ll try to remember to update that. It even has a section for ratings and reviews, so maybe I’ll do those for a few books. But reviews tend to be a lot of work, or if not that, they turn out poor or mediocre at best. And I’m quite lazy, and not a fantastic writer, so any reviews may well turn out to be lousy. But whatever, we’ll see what happens.
Right now, I’m reading Outliers (a.k.a., Outliers: The Story of Success) by Malcolm Gladwell. Well, I guess technically I’m still reading it. I’ve finished all the chapters and the intro and all of that, I’m just not done with the epilogue yet. I should have finished long ago — I read the last 3 chapters on Christmas Eve — but I haven’t been feeling well and headaches make it hard to read. But anyhow, basically I’m done with the book, so far the epilogue doesn’t contain any surprises or major points that weren’t already articulated in the actual chapters. And it is a good book. Since I began studying social psychology and the external forces that influence our own lives and decisions, I’ve started to realize that people don’t just get where they are through sheer talent alone. I’ve also noticed the lucky breaks and fortunate timing in my own life. That’s basically what Outliers is all about; how things about our culture and history, or even just timing and lucky opportunities, have been significant factors contributing to the success of extraordinary people and groups — the “outliers” of society. Even beyond intuitive influences of success (e.g., family background and economic status), this book highlighted some weird, arbitrary advantages that some “outliers” have had, for example, how lucky the greatest hockey players were to have been born early in the year, especially January, otherwise they may not have had the opportunity to become the great hockey players that they are today (read the book for explanation; I’m too lazy). Even if I wasn’t interested in the influence of external factors on success, I probably would have continued to read because the book also provides interesting tidbits of history on various successful people, such as Bill Joy, Bill Gates, and The Beatles. It wasn’t as statistical or research-oriented as I had expected, given the title, but as I was on break while I was reading it, I don’t really mind that so much. 
And here I thought I was just going to write a quick update saying that I’ll make a real post later. Well, I do plan on making more posts soon, but I think I’ve written enough for now. Also, I’m getting a little dizzy and tired from staring at my computer for so long. I think I need to adjust the contrast. Adios.
–Tati
