N I KO L A T E S L A

GRACE LYONS, LOGAN KOSKI,AND ASHLEE

CAPLINGER

Outlier Definition
out-li-er noun: something that is situated
away from or classified differently from a
main or related body. (Gladwell, M.)

Thesis
Our research shows that Nikola Tesla is a good
example of Malcolm Gladwell's theory of
success because of his family background,
above average intellectual skills at a young
age, and early opportunities.

Early Life

Smiljan, Austria

Family

-His mother, Djuka Tesla, spoke four languages

and
influenced Nikola with her strong engineering
background (Wilson)
-His father, Milutin Tesla, was a priest and knew
the entire bible by heart (Wilson)
-Cultural legacies are powerful forces. (Gladwell)

Early Schooling
When he was five, he studied German, religion, and
math in a school in his home town of Smijan, Austria.
He had to be monitored during his math tests to confirm
he was not cheating
At age 5, he was experimenting with the power of water,
and by age 9, he had improved the water-powered
eggbeater
In 1870, he attended the Higher Real Gymnasium for high
school (1870- 1873)

IQ
He had a high level of intelligence identified in

childhood
Had an IQ that fell into the "very superior range"
(140-160)

"There is nothing about an individual as important as

his IQ, except possibly his morals[...] we must look for
production of leaders who advance science, art,
government, education, and social welfare
generally" (Gladwell)
That group of young geniuses came to be known as
they termites, and they were the subjects of what
would
become one of the most famous psychological studies
in
history(Gladwell)

Dramatic Event
Illness:
-Cholera: a bacterial disease causing severe
diarrhea and dehydration, usually spread in
water
-Was bed ridden for 9 months
-Fathers promise

S E C O N D A RY S C H O O L I N G
A N D E A R LY C A R E E R

College
At the age of 19, he was studying
electrical engineering at the
Polytechnic Institute at Graz in
Austria (King)

College continued
He went on a military scholarship
Lost his scholarship sophomore year because he
argued
with a professor
Ended up dropping out of college because he
didn't have
enough money to attend

Post Schooling
Moved to Budapest where he worked at a
telephone exchange and cam up with the idea
of the induction motor (Nikola Tesla)
Then moved to New York to pursue his dreams

Thomas Edison
-Apprenticeship
-Edison made a bet that if Tesla was able to
improve upon the DC generator plants, he would
pay him $50,000 (Wilson)
-Tesla completed the task but was never rewarded
with the money

Peak of Success and Legacy

Tesla Coils

17

Alternating Current

18

Remote Control

19

Induction Motor

20

Insane Ideas
Contact with aliens
A big tower to give energy to the entire world
I expect to photograph thoughts (Nikola Tesla)

Legacy
Tesla has had such a major influence on modern
technology that companies are being named after
him:
Car company, airport, telecommunications group,
computer graphics processor, a social
transformation conference , and a rock band
(Andrews)

Legacy

Belgrade Nikola Tesla

airport

Tesla rock band

23

Tesla Cars

24

C O N C LU S I O N
Nikola Tesla supports Malcolm Gladwell's theory of
success because of his cultural and family background,
high academic skills as an adolescent carrying on into
his adult years, and early mentoring opportunities from
Thomas Edison.

Success is not a random act. It arises

out of a predictable and powerful set of
circumstances and opportunities
(Gladwell)

Works Cited
Andrews, Crispin. Nikola Tesla- The Man and His legacy. E and T. The
Institution of Engineering and Technology, 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 3 Sept.
2015.
Barksdale, Nate. "9 Things You May Not Know About Nikola Tesla."
History.com. A&E Television Networks, 9 Sept. 2014. Web. 15 Sept. 2015.
Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little, Brown
and Company,
2008. Print. 217 Sept. 2015
Jacobson, Rebecca. 8 things you didnt know about Nikola Tesla.
PBS.com. PBS, Web. 10 Jul. 2015. 15. Sept. 2015.
King, Gilbert. The Rise and Fall of Nikola Tesla and His Tower.
Smithsonian. Smithsonian Institution, 4 Feb. 2013. Web. 04 Sept. 2015.
Nikola Tesla. Bio.com. A and E Networks Television. Web. 15 Sept. 2015.
"Nikola Tesla Exclusive Videos & Features."History.com. A&E Television
Networks, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2015.
Whipps, By. Nikola Tesla Biography, Inventions and Quotes. Live Science.
TechMedia Network, Web. 15 Sept. 2015
Wilson, Daniel. The Mad Scientist Hall of Fame: Nikola Tesla! Io9. N.p., 26
Sept. 2010. Web. 04 Sept. 2015

Works Cited
-The first electricity quote
http://www.5meerkats.com/smarty/TL5B/
An image of the Tesla house
http://www.teslasociety.com/teslahouse.htm tesla house
-A chart of IQ scores
http://www.archure.net/psychology/IQs.html iq chart
-An image of the University of Graz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Graz graz
-An image of a remote control
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Toshiba_Remote_Control_CT
%209863.jpg
-An image of Teslas alternating current
http://energycatalyzer3.com/files/2014/09/Electric-AC-Voltage.jpg
-an image of Teslas invention of the Tesla coil
http://www.teslacoildesign.com/images/teslacoil.jpg

Works Cited
An image of a tesla car
http://www.mendaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/tesla-model-s-electric-car-photo
h01.jpg

https://updatesfromthefield.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/tesla-band2.jpgtesla band

http://www.b92.net/news/pics/2013/03/03/1008092076513352fba9deb123083562_v4b
ig.jpg
tesla airport

http://www.thocp.net/biographies/pictures/tesla_nikola1.jpgyoung pic

http://www.projectsnext.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/nikola-tesla.jpgtitle pic

http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/write.ign.com/76341/2012/04/family.jpgfamily
pic

http://images.mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_640x430/public/tesla-e
dison.jpg
tesla and edison