Monday, Apr. 04, 2011
Malcolm Gladwell
Age: 47
Occupation: Writer
Previous TIME 100 appearances: 1
Tackling everything from how athletes develop skill to how different societies regard alcohol consumption, the New Yorker writer's knack for spinning complex social-science theories into accessible journalism has earned him legions of fans — as well as a fair dose of flack for what critics deride as formulaic pop science. Most widely known as the author of the best-selling books Blink and The Tipping Point, the English-born Canadian has made his name by using complex numbers and big ideas to explain ordinary phenomena.