Why does Canada produce so many great hockey players? Why doesn’t Compton produce more physicists?
In his recent podcast, Revisionist History, Malcolm Gladwell tells the story of a boy named Carlos who, against all odds (poverty, abandonment), is able to get a world-class education not typically available to boys like him.
In this segment he introduces the listener to the idea of talent capitalization, a theory first put forth by James Flynn. This refers to “the rate at which a given community capitalizes on the human potential of those in its midst.”
The idea is that Canadian children are no more born with a “hockey gene” than a Compton child is not born with a “physicist gene.” There is inherent talent in all children and it should be the goal of a society to identify and nurture that talent so each child can reach their potential.
When more children reach their potential, we have a higher cap rate and the entire community thrives. When they don’t, the cap rate is lower and the community as a whole suffers.
Whether looking at a specific community or our country at large, a quick glimpse at the data would suggest that we are not doing a particularly good job in talent capitalization.
We incarcerate more people than any other place on the planet, and we have graduation levels (both high school and college) that are below that of many other developed nations. Both point to the fact that we are not realizing our full potential as a country.
When you drill down to specific communities, it is far worse.
Some may argue that talent is not evenly distributed — although IQ research suggests otherwise. And before you go too far down that path, realize that it will quickly begin to roll down the slippery slope of classism, racism and sexism.
Others might argue that the talent capitalization is largely the responsibility of an individual and his or her family. Yet there is only so much the kid from Compton can do to close the gap in “physics capital” available to him versus what a family from Greenwich, Connecticut has access to.
At the end of Carlos’ story, Gladwell instructs us not to be inspired by how this one boy was able to overcome the odds to “make it.” Instead, he asks us to think of all the other boys and girls like Carlos whose talents weren’t recognized and nurtured.
It has become our cultural default to hold up the exception and pat ourselves on the back thinking, “Isn’t it great to live in a country like America where anyone can be like Carlos?”
Except that most aren’t.
Even in Carlos’ story, the stars had to align perfectly for him to get the support and help of countless people and programs to put him on a better path.
It shouldn’t take a miracle for any young boy or girl to realize his or her potential — certainly not in a country with the resources and talent of America.