Birthday present round two commenced last sunday evening when I went to the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh to see Malcolm Gladwell give a lecture supporting his new book, What the Dog Saw.
I have only read one of his books, The Tipping Point as a university assignment but enjoyed it and found it very interesting. So although I wasn't sure what to expect I was looking forward to hearing what he had to say.
His chosen subject for the lecture was serendipity, concentrating on the roll serendipity plays in science, focusing on the story of two friends who worked to develop cancer fighting drugs.
I did not come away from the evening feeling overwhelmed with new theories or innovative concepts, I did not feel like it had changed my life or I would carry what he had said with me for years to come. When you pay to see an influential author I think you may expect to come out with some of these boxes ticked.
However he was a very talented speaker and story teller, he kept everyone engaged and interested. And I came away with an insight into how hard it is to bring medication to market, how rigorous the testing process is and although it seemed there was no obvious significant information imparted to us, on further reflection there are definitely underlying and subtal messages that can be taken from the lecture.
And it was delivered in an entertaining way.
(Also for some reason, he didn't look how I imagined him to!)
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