Monday, September 19, 2011

The Roseto Mystery



DIRECTIONS:  After carefully reading and annotating the essay, choose three of the following questions and answer fully.

  1. This essay is the introduction to Malcolm Gladwell’s best-selling book Outliers.  In what way does the town of Roseto qualify as an “outlier”?
  2. Summarize the first two paragraphs of the essay. Why do you think Gladwell chose to begin the essay this way?
  3. In the essay, who or what do you think was most responsible for the (new) Roseto’s flourishing?  Cite reasons for your response (include page numbers).
  4. Describe what Dr. Stewart Wolf found when he studied the population of Roseto. Cite statistics in your answer.
  5. What are the three possible explanations Dr. Wolf gives for the astonishing results of his study?  How is each one refuted (disproved)?
  6. What does Dr. Wolf finally conclude is the reason for the remarkable health of Rosetans?  Quote from the essay in your answer.
  7. Choose any five vocabulary words whose meaning you are unsure of.  List them, giving page nos. and partial sentence. Then define each one.

28 comments:

  1. 4. Dr. Stewart Wolf found when he studied the population of Rosesto that the people died of old age, and that was it. He found that impossible and studied deeper into Rosesto. The people from there are unhealthy, they eat unhealthy, they don’t exercises and it’s not in there genes. They discovered that people live longer when they are in an environment with happy, helpful people.

    6. Dr. Wolf finally concludes that it’s the people in the environment that keep everyone happy and healthy. “ They had to appreciate the idea that the values of the world we inhabit and the people we surround ourselves with have a profound effect on who we are.” They could be the most unhealthiest, laziest, non-active town, but the rich don’t brag and help the poor and its just a happy environment.



    7. Quarries (1), Skepticism (6), Profound (6), rutted (2) and epidemic (3)
    The paesani of Roseto worked in the marble quarries in the surrounding hills
    You can imagine the kind of skepticism they faced
    The people we surround ourselves with have a profound effect on whom we are
    Buying land on rocky hillside connect to Bangor by a steep, rutted wagon path
    Heart attacks were an epidemic in the United States

    Quarries: a place, typically a large deep put in which stone or other materials are or have been extracted
    Skepticism: a person inclined to question or doubt all accepted opinions
    Profound: very great or intense
    Rutted: an annual period of sexual activity in deer and some other mammals
    Epidemic: a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time

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  2. 4 . No one under fifty-five had died of a heart attack or showed any signs of heart disease. For men over sixty-five , the death rate from heart disease in Roseto was roughly half that of the United States as a whole.

    6. The reason for the health of Rosetans is Roseto itself."they saw howmany homes had three generations living under one roof , and how much respect grandparents commanded. they counted twenty-two separate civic organizations in a town of just under two thousand people. they picked up on the particular egalitarian ethos of the community."

    7 . (1)compatriots:joining their compatriots in the slate quarry
    (A fellow citizen)
    (2)astonishing:the results were astonishing
    (surprise)
    (3)sociologist:a sociologist from Oklahoma named John Bruhn to help him
    (person who study human society and social behavior)
    (4) insulating:protective social structure capable of insulating them from the pressures of the modern world
    (to place in an isolated situation or condition)
    (5)skepticism: you can imagine the kind of skepticism they faced
    (question attitude of idea and belief

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  3. 1) The town of Roseto is an “outlier” because the majority of them couldn’t read and they were very poor. Also, the people there worked in deep pits with stones (quarries). As you can see their life was very difficult, unlike other towns.

    6) Dr. Wolf finally concludes that the Rosetans were healthy because of where they were from. They had a social structure that backed each other up, they were all happy and loving towards one another.

    7) Literate- page 1 “The townsfolk were barely literate and desperately poor…” Definition: able to read and write
    Compatriots- page 2 “…joining their compatriots in the slate quarry.”
    Definition: fellow citizen or national of a country
    Advent- page 3 “…years before the advent of cholesterol-lowering drugs…” Definition: arrival of a notable person, thing, or event
    Preliminary- page 3 “We decided to do a preliminary study.”
    Definition: denoting an action or event preceding or done in preparation for something fuller
    Arrayed- last page "...presenting long rows of data arrayed in complex charts..."
    Definition: an impressive display or range of a particular type of thing


    Louise Ford

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  4. #1. The town of Roseto qualifies as an outlier because all the Rosetans were different from all the other people meaning that all the Rosetans never died from heart diseases and even though they had unhealthy habits, they were still healthy.

    #2. I think he chose to begin the essay this way to make people see how everybody from Roseto used to live and the life style that they had. Also I think he chose to do that to be able to have an image of Roseto and see the differences between Roseto and Pennsylvania.

    #7. A) Cultivated: “…the pasesani of Roseto worked in the marble quarries in the surrounding hills, or cultivated the fields…” definition: prepare and use for crops
    B) Literate: “the townsfolk were barely literate and desperately poor and without much hope...” definition: able to read and write
    C) Fractious: “...which meant-given the fractious relationships between the English and Germans and Italians in those years…” definition: bad-tempered
    D) Epidemic: “heart attacks were an epidemic in the United States” definition: a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time
    E) Preliminary: “we decided to do a preliminary study. We started in nineteen sixty-one.” Definition: done in preparation for something fuller or more important

    ~Jennifer Reynoso

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  5. 1-Everyone has good health and doesnt get heart disease under the age of 65 unlike the other places in the US.
    2-I think Gladwell chose this way to begin the essay is to describe what the towns like and to show you how they live.
    3-The italians
    4-Dr. Steward Wolf found out that the population in Roseto, all of them had good health and didnt get heart disease under the age of 65. But different places in the US did.
    5-First he thought that they help on to some dietary practices from the old world that kept them healthier than other americans. But soon realized that wasnt right because they all ate really bad but yet stayed healthy. Another thing he thought it could be was their genetics. He searched relatives and went to where they were and saw they didnt have healthy records like the Rosetans. And the third thing was the location they were in. But realized that the other places near by had different health records also.
    6-Dr. Wolf finally concludes that the reason for the remarakable health of Rosetans was due to who they surrounded themself with and people who cared for eachother had good health.
    7- Compatriots- a group of some sort.
    Fractious- a portion of people's relationships
    Cultivated- got things ready.

    -Jessie Stanek

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  6. Jessica C. Pd 8
    1.This essay is the introduction to Malcolm Gladwell’s best-selling book Outliers.  In what way does the town of Roseto qualify as an “outlier”?
    The town of Roseto was separated from the other towns and only Italians were in this town.
    6. What does Dr. Wolf finally conclude is the reason for the remarkable health of Rosetans?  Quote from the essay in your answer. People caring about others and talking to people can help you live longer by not getting heart disease.
    Choose any five vocabulary words whose meaning you are unsure of.  List them, giving page nos. and partial sentence. Then define each one.
    Flanked: page 1, .... up the hillside, flanked by closely clustered houses... , the right or left side of a formation or force, or of the projection of a bastion.
    Paesani: page 1, ... the paesani of Roseto worked in .... , a fellow country man; or fellow Italian
    Compatriots: page 2, ... joining their compatriots in the slate.... , is someone who either works with or is from the same place as another.
    Dynamic: page 2, ... a dynamic young priest... , is energetic or forceful.
    Convent: page 2, ... a convent, and a cemetery, ... , the building occupied by a community.

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  7. 1. the town of Roseto is considered to be an "outlier" because the people who were living in Roseto were not having any heart problems at an older age unlike most people living in Pennsylvania.

    2. The Author started the essay in this way because he wanted to give a description of what the people of Roseto were doing on a daily bases and how they lived before they came to America. They all had a rough life and were in fairly bad living enviroments

    5. Flanked- to be attacked or encountered from any direction
    quarries- a pit open to the air
    literate-able to read and write
    convent- a community devoted to religion
    preliminary- to lead up to the main part

    ,Tahsin

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  8. Nijai Brathwaite
    Pd.9

    Question 5:
    Three explanations:
    1. They gathered together the death certificates from residents of the town, going back as many years as they could
    -This explanation was refuted because no one fewer than fifty-five had died of a heart attack or showed any signs of heart disease
    2.They looked at some of the people’s dietary practices
    -This explanation was refuted because the Rosetans were cooking with lard, 41% of their calories came from fat, nor people got up at dawn to do yoga, smoked heavily and were also struggling with obesity.
    3. They tracked down relatives of the Rosetans who were living in other parts of the U.S to see if they shared the same remarkable good health as their cousins in P.A
    -This explanation was refuted because they couldn’t find any information.

    Question 6:
    Dr.Wolf realized that it was in Roseto itself for why they lived healthy and long lives. They study the way the Rosetans socialized and interacted with each other, And about their extended family clans that underlay the town’s social structure. They also sore the respect the Rosetans had for each other.

    Question 7.
    Cultivated (pg. 1. Sentence: or cultivated the fields in the terraced valley below)
    -Define: to break up soil in preparation for sowing or planting
    Preliminary (pg. 2. Sentence: we decided to do a preliminary study)
    -Define: denoting an action or event preceding or done preparation for something fuller or more important
    Outlier (pg. 3. Sentence: roseto was an outlier)
    -Define: something that is situated away form or classes differently from a main or related body
    Civic (pg. 4. Sentence: they counted twenty-two separate civic organizations)
    -Define: of or relating to a city or town Ethos (pg. 4. Sentence: they picked up on the particular egalitarian ethos of the community) -define: the characteristic spirit of a culture era, or community as manifested in its beliefs and aspirations

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  9. 4- In Roseto, no one under the age of age of 55 had died of a heart attack or showed any signs of heart disease. For men over 65 the the death rate was half of United States's.

    6- The Rosteans had created a powerful, protective social structure capable of insulating themselves from the modern world, they had no stress and it made a healthy environment.

    1- roseto is an "outlier" because it doesnt have everyday experience and normal rules like other cities didnt apply thier, it was unique.

    -Tommy

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  10. Corinne Venter

    7. Flanked- guard or stregthen

    Fractious- difficult to control

    Genealogies-a line of descent traced continuously from an ancestor

    Preliminary-denoting an action or event preceding or done in preparation for something fuller or more important

    Skepticism – not easily convinced

    1. The Roseto is classified as an outliner because if someone from that town moved to a town nearby they wouldn’t hear of Roseto.

    4. He rarely found that people under the age of 65 do not have heart disease in Roseto.

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  11. 1. What are the three possible explanations Dr. Wolf gives for the astonishing results of his study? How is each one refuted (disproved)? 3 possible explanations was there eating habits, the location of roseto and the genetics each one refuted because there eating habit was bad because they consumed 41% fat ,the location was refuted because towns around it had the same health problems as everyone else
    2. What does Dr. Wolf finally conclude is the reason for the remarkable health of Rosetans? Quote from the essay in your answer. Dr. worlf finally concludes that the reason is that rosetans are social and keep close social connections with everyone in the town which for some reason keeps them healthy and they die of old age thats it
    3. This essay is the introduction to Malcolm Gladwell’s best-selling book Outliers. In what way does the town of Roseto qualify as an “outlier”? rosteo qualifies as an outlier because they never get sick or die of diseases like other people do outside of Roseto, they aren't like any other town there special.

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  12. 2. I think Gladwell chose to begin the essay in this way because he wanted to explain where Roseto is located and he wanted to catch the reader's attention by saying how the people were and make the reader want to read more. Also to say how hard life was for the people of Roseto.

    3. I think Roseto flourished so much because they ate organic food. As it says on page 3, one of the doctors said it was rare to see someone under the age of sixty five to have heart disease. This means the people were just healthy, even though they used lard when they cooked.

    4. When Dr. Wolf studied the population of Roseto, he found that no one under fifty-five had died of a heart attack or showed any signs of heart disease. They found that no one committed suicide, no alcoholism, no drug addiction, and hardly any crime. They found that people were dying of old age.

    Jarred Cummings

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  13. 1. Almost everyone from the town Roseta was different from society because they were “healthier” then the people outside of Roseta

    4. Dr Wolf found that no people under the age of 65 has developed heart disease and that everyone in that town of Roseta dies from old age

    6. Dr Wolf concluded that everyone in the town of Roseta has died from old age

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  14. 1. they said that the people of Roseta of the age of 65 or younger rarely had heart disease or any signs of heart problems. They also rarely ever died of a disease and were simply said to just die of old age, and that;s that.

    2. On pages 4 and 5 the doctors discover that the real reason these people were living longer and without diseases was because of the community they lived in and the neighbors and the positive energies of the people that surrounded them was what made these people live longer.

    3. Dr. Wolf thought that maybe these people had different blood but this theory was disproved when he discovered other people in the U.S that had the same blood but had more diseases then Rosetans. Another theory he came up with was the environmental surroundings of the city and lastly, the types of food they were eating.
    ~Sydney Dyer

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  15. 1.) Roseto is an outlier town because it is unique and different than the other cities in its regions. 5.) Three explanations are that they live healthy lifestyles, but in studies it shows most of them are obese and out of shape. Another is that is the area they live in but in studies it showed neighboring towns have 3x the amount of disease than Roseto. Lastly there is the idea that they grew organic food, but that was proven false because they cooked with lard instead of olive oil. 6.) He concludes that it is the lovingness and kindliness of the Roseto’s that keeps them alive. It stated, “The Rosetans were healthy because of where they are from.”

    By: Lazarus Regueiro

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  16. 1) The town of Roseto qualify’s as a outlier because it is located one hundred miles southeast of Rome in the Apennine foothills of the Italian province of Foggia
    2) I think Galdwell started the story with the first two paragraphs, is because he wanted to show people how the town was very poor and what the style of living was.

    4) Heart attacks were the leading cause of death in men under the age of 65. For men over the age of 65 the death rate from heart disease in Roseto was roughly half that of the United States as a whole. The death rate was 30 to 35 percent lower than expected.
    BY: JOHN FRANGESKOS

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  17. Sean P

    1.) It is an outlier because it is simply different from all other towns around it.

    2.) In the first two paragraphs Gladwell is giving you a setting for the story.

    3.) Because they were a self sufficient town which provided everything for each other. They were also built up on top of each other meaning they could look after everyone.

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  18. Jesse Graham

    2) The author starts the essay this way to give you the background of Roseto Valfortore. Roseto is 100 miles south of the alpine foot hills in the Italian provence. The citizens are not very literate and are poor but are family oriented.

    5) Dr. Wolf at first believed that it was their diet keeping them alive but when they moved their diet changed to what america had and wasent different. so he asked a sociologist who discovered that there was no alcoholism, no drugs no suicide, and very little crime. He also checked Roseto's location but the surrounding towns dident have the results the other town still had deaths caused from things other than old age.

    7) Compatriots
    Foggian
    Preliminary
    Flaunting
    skepticism

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  19. 1.) this town qualifies as an outlier because the people in the town do not die of sickness or bad health the Rosetans only die of old age.

    6.) Dr. Wolf concludes that the reason they aren't getting heart disease is because they are all friendly and nice to each other and they are al good neighbors.

    7.) Flanked- the side of anything
    Paesani- a fellow countryman
    Convent- a community of nuns
    Ethos - the beliefs of an individual or group
    EKG- electrocardiogram

    - Matthew Cannet -

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  20. 1. In the book Outliers, the town Roseto qualifies as an outlier because there all a bunch of Italians and it’s a story about them.

    6. The people that you’re surrounded by, because the people you’re surrounded by affect your health.

    7. Flanked- combining
    • Literate- able to read or write
    • Tavern- bar
    • Convent- church
    • Genealogies- family tree, the study of finding your ancestors
    ERIN MOLONEY

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  21. 1. The families were separated from society and did not get involved with any other towns.

    4. Dr. stewert discovered that the rosetos do not have heart conditions and were not getting sick.

    5. Three explenations were that they originally were healthy and stayed healthy because its in there genetics.

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  22. Because they are successful in living long lives
    To give you the background and thought of maybe why they live so long.
    I think genetics was most responsible for the success of the Rosetos long lives.
    They were unhealthy and DID NOT have Heart problems

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  23. 1) The town of Roseto is an outlier because somehow everyone dies from old age.
    2) Dr. Stewart found out that the population was about 2000
    3) The possible explanation is that they hide the fact that they actually die from other causes than old age.

    Eric H.

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  24. 1. The way that Roseto, Pennsylvania qualifies to as an outlier is because most people living there have bad eating habits and are over wait but they don’t have heart problems or other illnesses like people in the other parts or the Unites States.
    2. Gadwall stars the first two paragraphs by describing the Roseto in Italy that the one in the story is named after. Gladwell writes about how the town is structured meaning important buildings and footpaths, he also says what most of the men and women’s work life’s would be like. He starts the paragraphs like this so the reader can see the similarity between the to towns.
    6. Dr. Wolf finally concluded that the reason for his remarkable results is that .Roseto’s stress free and family oriented let the people living there live longer. Gladwell said “ living a long life, the conventional wisdom at the time said, depended to a great extent on who we were—that is, our genes” because people know now that stress hurts peoples health.

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  25. 7) foot hills, province, paesani, tavern, ventured.
    2) to knowledge people about the setting, an interesting preview of what they are about to read.
    1)its very different and thats why it would be considered an outlier.

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  26. 1. the town roseto is an outlier because they are secluded from everyone else. also because they are self sufficient and grow their own food and dont rely on other places or people to live and eat.

    5. the explanations dr. wolf gives for his study are, where they live, what they eat, and how everyone is so friendly and are always helping socializing. he is wrong that what they eat makes them live long because they eat very fattening food and have high rates of heart disease. dr. wolf was wrong where they live because a town not too far away had higher rates of death.

    6. dr. wolf finally concludes the reason for the rosetos great health is that they are always socializing and are nice and help each other out. "they looked how rosetans visited one another, stopping to chat in italian on the street, say, or cooking for on another in their backyards."

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  27. 2. The first two paragraphs of the roseto mystery tell the back round of the roseto mystery. It tell that roseto valfortre lies 100 miles southeast of rome. it give a description of the towns medieval style villiges. It also gives a brief description of the mens job in the quarries. I think he chooses to start the story like this because he wants to give a back round of the ancestry of the town.
    6. Dr. Wolf finally concludes that the reason for their health was because of where they were from.
    7. Five vocab words from the roseto mystery are-1.Quarry-an excavation from which building stone is acquired.
    2.Convent- A community of persons devoted to religious life under a superior.
    3. Colleagues-an associate
    4. Dietician-an expert in nutrition
    5. Biscotti-a cookie or cracker

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  28. 1. This essay is the introduction to Malcolm Gladwell’s best-selling book Outliers. In what way does the town of Roseto qualify as an “outlier”? The town of Roseto is an outlier. It's different and isn't like other towns and kind of isolated. Everyone dies of old age.

    2. Summarize the first two paragraphs of the essay. Why do you think Gladwell chose to begin the essay this way? The author starts off the story talking about the history of the town of Roseto. Since the story revolves around that town it's important to let the readers know as much background knowledge as possible. It helps them get a real idea of what its like there.

    7.
    Convent - christian community under monastic views
    Ethos - the characteristic spirit of a culture, era or community
    Rutted - groove
    Fractious - easily irritated ; bad tempered
    Preliminary - denoting an action or preceding or done in preparation for something fuller or more important

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