Ethan Parker

I finished a book by Malcom Gladwell called The Tipping Point a little over 2 years ago and today I finished his next book “Blink”. Both very good! Here’s one of the ideas from Blink:

In the early 20th century women were discriminated against in the classical music scene. It was thought that they didn’t have the lung capacity for brass nor the hand strength for strings. Less than 5 percent of musicians were women. Then something very simple but profound happened; they did blind auditions. The performer would walk on stage via carpet (so heels wouldn’t clink) behind a sheet so those listening could only hear the music, not see distractions. By the end of the century about 50% of those performing in the nation’s major symphonies were women.

Cool, huh! How you sound should be, after all, the only determining factor in a symphony orchestra. If you’re singing pop you should probably be a hottie with a body who can shake it all over, but if you can wear black and be still then hey classical is for you!

Gladwell spoke at Harvard Law about 2 years ago and proposed we practice criminal law using this principle. Surprisingly he was well received. The author was trying to correct the injustice of racial prejudice in sentences. It’s a fact that black convicts are 27 to 54 times more likely to get jail time for drug offenses than equivalent white offenders. Great idea I say. Why not level the playing field?