[ reading reflection and response part ii ]

Malcolm in this chapter was flapping his lips even more than the last chapter. He clearly cares far more about hearing himself spout meaningless descriptions and nonsense than he does about making any kind of point. His "point" here was worn down to flatness before he even tapped the first key on his keyboard. Do we care who he thinks looks like a cowboy? Do we care why the Mercury Mystique, which is, according to Wikipedia, a mediocre and overpriced car nicknamed the "Mercury Mistake," is supposedly a good car, or why said car should be bought on the twenty-fifth of the month? Padding at levels this excessive makes things unbearable dull...which Gladwell's writing is in the first place, so the idea is doubly bad here.