A deep dive into Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘What the Dog Saw’

There are many questions in life that we ponder about and if we are lucky to remember them much later, we will search for answers online.

But what about questions we’d never considered? What if they come along with research-based answers? This is what I felt when reading Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘What the Dog Saw’ (2003).

The book consists of nineteen articles written by Gladwell while working in the New Yorker between the years 1996-2008 and divided into three parts. The first is Obsessives, Pioneers and Other Varieties of Minor Genius where Gladwell discusses how normal people’s passion and perseverance are the main reasons for their success in life even if they’re unknown to the rest of us.

I enjoyed reading the historical side of inventions such as ketchup and hair dye. I was surprised to find out the reason why Heinz ketchup is considered the best around the world for one simple reason (read the book to find out!).

Also, about how Loreal’s famous slogan ‘because I’m worth it’ was created and helped in eliminating competition with other hair dye companies. There was also an interesting article about a dog whisperer called Cesar Milan who helped many owners to deal with difficult dogs.

The second part is Theories, Predictions and Diagnosis where ethic conundrums such as flexibility with moral standards if it means saving someone’s job or life are discussed.

Despite the technical details overload, it was still captivating as it included why mammograms fail in detecting cancer in most cases, a detailed account of the Challenger disaster in 1986 and the writer’s own experience on being plagiarised without knowing and how he dealt with it.

As well as an interesting article on why intelligence agencies fail in preventing imminent disasters despite the many tips they’d get from different resources (with a good example of the Arab-Israeli war of 1973) and how our brains function differently when we’re chocking or panicking.

The final part is Personality, Character, and Intelligence where it covers various areas from job interviews to criminal profiling. This was my favourite part as it was psychology-based and very thought provoking as it discussed areas like what it means to be a genius and does it start at a certain age?

In addition, why many of the candidates who pass job interviews can cause their employees a great disappointment once they start working.

One of the articles that I enjoyed reading was how criminal profiling started in the FBI in the 1970s with agents interviewing different serial killers around the country, to help understand the link between the crime scene and the killer’s personality (reminded me of Netflix’s ‘Mindhunter’ series). The other article was called Troublemakers and spoke about aggressive dog breeds that are linked with human attacks such as pit bulls and rottweilers.

But, what makes these dogs behave this way? Is it genetics? Not really, it’s how humans raise them. When dogs are socially isolated, starved and abused that’s when they become highly aggressive.

Nevertheless, the only few articles that were my least favourite were business-related, especially the ones covering the markets and why giant companies like Enron failed. Altogether, this was my first Malcom Gladwell’s book to read – and certainly not the last.

Reading for Gladwell is as if having a conversation with your chatty friend who’d not only describe the person he’s talking about but also had done extensive research regarding the subject. If possible, went through an experiment or two just to make sure that he fully understood the issue and that you both are 100 per cent immersed in the experience. What the Dog Saw is deeply insightful and highly recommended.

Rasha Al Raisi

The writer is author of The World According to Bahja