Mitchell Bzdok 0882821
Dr. Rendahl
Comm 394: Paper #1
01/11/2015
The Tipping Point Hush Puppies, mavens, Sesame Street, and New York City crime rates; all things that seem to have nothing in common until you look at them in the right context. The one common denominator they all share is they had a tipping point, and are examples of how little things can make a big difference in society. Malcolm Gladwell recognizes this threshold in everyday life, and in the products we use. He sees that a sudden increase in the sales of a shoe can be triggered by only a selective few that decide to wear them while they were unpopular, or how cleaning up the subway system can generate a significant decrease in crime. A single person could make significant changes in society although they represent a very insignificant number in the total population. If that one person is responsible for a tipping point a chain reaction can be made out of a single decision. Tipping points are exactly what the phrase describes; a point where the threshold has been met, so it theoretically “tips.” This does not come due to chance however. Gladwell argues that there are certain aspects of a product, norm, or person that are required to exceed a threshold and cause a reaction, he states, “The three rules of the tipping point—the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context—offer a way of making sense of an epidemic. They provide us with direction for how to go about reaching a tipping point.” Gladwell’s examples and messages throughout his work resonate with the three rules he presented at the beginning of his book. The first rule, the law of the few, is described in the book as connectors, mavens, and salesman. Connectors are individuals who have bonds in many different areas and work as channels; they help to stimulate connections and relationships that otherwise may not have ever occurred. Mavens are people who have an impulse to help other consumers by making informed decisions and passing on their knowledge. Salesmen are people whose charisma allows them to be extremely persuasive in just about any context, whether it is sales, an opinion on a product, or how much they are willing to pay for a new house. Gladwell identifies a number of examples of past events and trends that depended on the authority or participation of connectors, mavens, and salesmen at a crucial moment in their development at a point where their threshold needs to be exceeded to expand. The second rule, the stickiness factor, refers to a quality or aspect of a phenomenon that seems to “stick” in a person’s mind and, in turn, change their behavior. A main component of stickiness, as defined by Gladwell, is the fact that it is counterintuitive to conventional thought. The example used were the children’s shows Sesame Street and Blue’s Clues. Sesame Street was produced as a way to teach children literacy techniques. The program was entertaining and creative, but also had a teaching aspect that children did not recognize as learning, it resulted in kids watching the show for enjoyment and also learning how to read and write. Years later, the show Blue’s Clues applied many of the same techniques as Sesame Street, resulting in a program that has been shown through research to generate significant improvements in a child’s logic and reasoning abilities. “Stickiness, Gladwell claims, is often represented as a dramatic divergence from the conventional wisdom of the era.” The children’s appeal to learning through television changed the mindset that learning is accomplished through teaching and lessons in person. The last rule, the power of context, is described in the text as how mechanisms cause trends that can, theoretically, “tip” into a massive scale change in society. Gladwell cites that many New York City organizations began to point out that the broken windows theory could be reversed and change a New York City crime rate that was in record numbers through the 1980s. By cleaning the subway system, and focusing on those committing petty and misdemeanor crimes the city could change the environment that allowed and promoted larger problems like the use and distribution of crack cocaine. The implementation of cleaning the city and no longer ignoring petty crimes tipped the crime rates into a downward trend that held true through the 1990s. This book was very intriguing to me in many ways. I never really had the idea the small changes, or ideas could influence a major revolution or philosophy in society. The publication illustrates the social crises’ our world encounter and how it needs to change, The Tipping Point highlights why social changes occur. Gladwell wants his readers to recognize that they can create positive change in a culture and how it becomes contagious to others. He hypothesizes that if negative epidemics can spread, then positive epidemics can too, even if it comes from a small group of people.
One of my favorite quotes in the book reflect this idea, Gladwell states,
“Economists often talk about the 80/20 Principle, which is the idea that in any situation roughly 80 percent of the “work” will be done by 20 percent of the participants. In most societies, 20 percent of criminals commit 80 percent of crimes. Twenty percent of motorists cause 80 percent of all accidents. Twenty percent of beer drinkers drink 80 percent of all beer. When it comes to epidemics, though, this disproportionality becomes even more extreme: a tiny percentage of people do the majority of the work.”
The quote works well with his overall message that the smallest percentages are responsible for the majority of behaviors that are quantitatively quantified. Social behavior as a whole can be blamed by a resounding few individuals. I found The Tipping Point to be insightful and well organized with a tremendous amount of research done to write it. It had points that I really agreed with, like the main idea of small changes and beliefs influencing an entire population and how a single person with many connections can provide a service that can alter decision-making or fuel a cultural revolution. But, there were parts that I did not believe in, or found somewhat fictitious, like the idea that epidemics are cause by the three rules he pointed out. I do agree that these are key contributors of social change and the influence of an epidemic, but I also think that there are many more factors that can be attributed. An example is the law of the many, rather than the law of the few. I most definitely agree with the 80/20 principal, but what about instances where large-scale movements are started by a large group of people? An example is a refugee situation. Many people involuntary move from a region to another region, it was not started or coordinated and did not necessarily begin with a small group of people, it just kind of happened on a large-scale because of conflict or other environmental reasons. The book, in my opinion, is a must read because of the concepts Gladwell describes in his pages. All of the examples and theories he describes actually happened in real life. The non-fiction element of the publication gave it more meaning and helped bring his points across, as well as keep his ideas interesting for the reader so he or she can relate to the situations presented. There will always be a straw that breaks the camel’s back and Gladwell did a terrific job summarizing how major societal changes can occur in a single minor moment. “The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.”

--------------------------------------------
[ 1 ]. Theory that minor signs of deterioration in a community can, over time, result in major declines in the quality of living and promote criminal activity