All 4 Uses of
phenomenon
in
Outliers
- It wasn't until the mid-1980s, in fact, that a Canadian psychologist named Roger Barnsley first drew attention to the phenomenon of relative age.
Chpt 1phenomenon = something that exists and is of special interest
- Even more social phenomena can be linked to relative age.
Chpt 1phenomena = interesting observable things
- The sociologist Robert Merton famously called this phenomenon the "Matthew Effect" after the New Testament verse in the Gospel of Matthew: "For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance."
Chpt 1phenomenon = something that exists and is of special interest
- This "achievement gap" is a phenomenon that has been observed over and over again, and it typically provokes one of two responses.
Chpt 9 *
Definitions:
-
(1)
(phenomenon) something that exists or happened -- especially something of special interest -- sometimes someone or something that is extraordinary"Phenomenons" and "phenomena" are both appropriate plural forms of this noun. "Phenomena" is generally used in scientific or philosophical contexts.
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
In philosophy, a phenomenon is something as known through the senses. It is contrasted with a noumenon.