Outliers Lesson Plan

How do environmental factors help create a cultural legacy? Why would a culture of honor develop from herding animals? Why didn’t this happen with farming?

The ancestors of the Appalachian people lived in a rocky, mountainous environment. Farming was not possible due to the land’s infertility, so they raised pigs and herded sheep. The culture of a herdsman is very different from the culture of a farmer. A farmer depends on the cooperation of other people in the community, but a herdsman works alone.

Nobody will steal a farmer’s crops, but thieves can easily steal the animals that belong to the herdsman, ruining him. He can’t show weakness and therefore must be willing to...