Malcolm Gladwell

I thought that's where you were headed.

No, I had that chapter, another chapter of the book, where I ran across a bunch of articles by these two sociologists, Anna Muller and Seth Arberton. And they were talking about a town they would only call Poplar Grove. And they had been working there, studying it for years. And they described it. And I later figured out what town it was and went there for myself and confirmed it.

No, I had that chapter, another chapter of the book, where I ran across a bunch of articles by these two sociologists, Anna Muller and Seth Arberton. And they were talking about a town they would only call Poplar Grove. And they had been working there, studying it for years. And they described it. And I later figured out what town it was and went there for myself and confirmed it.

No, I had that chapter, another chapter of the book, where I ran across a bunch of articles by these two sociologists, Anna Muller and Seth Arberton. And they were talking about a town they would only call Poplar Grove. And they had been working there, studying it for years. And they described it. And I later figured out what town it was and went there for myself and confirmed it.

It's the perfect, it literally is the perfect community. If you went there, you would say, it's like upper income, on the water, incredibly tight knit.

It's the perfect, it literally is the perfect community. If you went there, you would say, it's like upper income, on the water, incredibly tight knit.

It's the perfect, it literally is the perfect community. If you went there, you would say, it's like upper income, on the water, incredibly tight knit.

No, no, so it's- So Poplar Grove, yes. Poplar Grove, high school best in the state. Amazing, yeah. You know, every amenity under the sun. And they had had a suicide epidemic at their high school that had gone on way, way, way, way longer. And it was incredibly heartbreaking. And these two, Mueller and Arbiton, sort of do all this analysis.

No, no, so it's- So Poplar Grove, yes. Poplar Grove, high school best in the state. Amazing, yeah. You know, every amenity under the sun. And they had had a suicide epidemic at their high school that had gone on way, way, way, way longer. And it was incredibly heartbreaking. And these two, Mueller and Arbiton, sort of do all this analysis.

No, no, so it's- So Poplar Grove, yes. Poplar Grove, high school best in the state. Amazing, yeah. You know, every amenity under the sun. And they had had a suicide epidemic at their high school that had gone on way, way, way, way longer. And it was incredibly heartbreaking. And these two, Mueller and Arbiton, sort of do all this analysis.

And their conclusion is that one of the big problems with the town, the reason this has happened, is that it was a high school that only had one culture, right? So, you know, I'm sure your high school's too. My high school, like a normal high school, it had like 10 different cliques you could join, you know, the jocks and the nerds and the whatever.

And their conclusion is that one of the big problems with the town, the reason this has happened, is that it was a high school that only had one culture, right? So, you know, I'm sure your high school's too. My high school, like a normal high school, it had like 10 different cliques you could join, you know, the jocks and the nerds and the whatever.

And their conclusion is that one of the big problems with the town, the reason this has happened, is that it was a high school that only had one culture, right? So, you know, I'm sure your high school's too. My high school, like a normal high school, it had like 10 different cliques you could join, you know, the jocks and the nerds and the whatever.

And the point of that is it's powerfully protective that any child coming into that high school, no matter how dysfunctional they may feel, can find a home. There was a place you could go if you were, you know, we called them stoners, but in my high school, which is rural Canada, that meant you smoked cigarettes, which is quite quaint.

And the point of that is it's powerfully protective that any child coming into that high school, no matter how dysfunctional they may feel, can find a home. There was a place you could go if you were, you know, we called them stoners, but in my high school, which is rural Canada, that meant you smoked cigarettes, which is quite quaint.

And the point of that is it's powerfully protective that any child coming into that high school, no matter how dysfunctional they may feel, can find a home. There was a place you could go if you were, you know, we called them stoners, but in my high school, which is rural Canada, that meant you smoked cigarettes, which is quite quaint.

But if you wanted to be a quote unquote stoner and smoke Marlboro Lights, there was a place for you, right? How'd you make it out of there? No, no. Yeah, exactly. My high school was so tame in retrospect. I don't even know. It seems like a kind of fantasy that it even existed.

But if you wanted to be a quote unquote stoner and smoke Marlboro Lights, there was a place for you, right? How'd you make it out of there? No, no. Yeah, exactly. My high school was so tame in retrospect. I don't even know. It seems like a kind of fantasy that it even existed.

But if you wanted to be a quote unquote stoner and smoke Marlboro Lights, there was a place for you, right? How'd you make it out of there? No, no. Yeah, exactly. My high school was so tame in retrospect. I don't even know. It seems like a kind of fantasy that it even existed.

And the thing you understand is, yeah, so imagine what Poplar Grove is, is a city, a town, and a high school where there's only one of those groups, where every child is required to conform to the super sporty, socially successful, on their way to Ivy League model. And so if you don't fit and work in that incredibly narrow description, there's nowhere for you to go. There's only one culture.