David and Goliath: Dyslexia (Chapter Four)

(This is a review of the fourth Chapter of David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell, a review of the first chapter is here )

The second part of Gladwell's book is called "The Theory Of Desirable Difficulty" and it begins with a chapter about dyslexia.  I have no doubt that there exist scientists that will be frustrated with the brief description given for how dyslexia works and how brain scans have validated these theories.  Then the chapter explains the difficulties dyslexics face.  But apparently there are advantages to dyslexia, many entrepreneur's have it, the rest of the chapter is filled with personal stories of successful people with dyslexia.

This chapter took me longer to read than the others and helped me understand why Gladwell is so reviled amongst many scientists.  It provoked me to think deeply about important issues (I was diagnosed as learning disabled, though not specifically dyslexia).  However, I couldn't come to any provable conclusions about dyslexia, learning disabilities or any of the other issues the chapter touches on.  The stereotypical scientists doesn't like to think about something unless it gives him a concrete result.