>> people that can't read well, we tend to build a great sense of listening. we also tend to build a great sense of being able to deal and cope with failure. >> this is not something you would wish on anybody else? >> no, i would not. >> reporter: gladwell is fascinated with people who achieve success by forging their own path, perhaps because that's what he's done. he's a staff writer for "the new yorker" magazine, but he doesn't actually have an office. he writes in small cafes in new york and does most of his research in a library where he hunts out academic papers and minds them for interesting counterintuitive ideas. david of "the new yorker" calls him an original. >> there are people that cover science. there are people that cover business. there are people that cover trends, but this strange reading academic journals, interviewing ordinary people, thinking, story telling, this is something that malcolm really -- that was a territory he carved out for himself. >> what do you think he's interested in achieving?