The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell is a remarkable
book that makes extraordinary observations about our society and how trends of
all types catch on. “The tipping point” is a concept broken into three parts
that helps explain trends in fashion, crime, health, and many other aspects of
our everyday lives or in our general society.
The tipping point is defined as an epidemic where everything
can change all at once. Gladwell explains that little changes can have a big
effect. Just a few people wearing cool shoes can start a nationwide trend or a couple
hundred people who are sexually promiscuous can start a syphilis epidemic. Gladwell’s
theory even extends to a psychological phenomenon known as “the bystander
effect” where people in a group are less likely to assume responsibility. The
concept of “the tipping point” itself is broken down to three parts. “Law of
the Few” is the first part. This law deals with the success of any social
epidemic. Economists attribute this law to the 80/20 principle. Basically, 20
percent of the population is accountable for 80 percent of the social
phenomenon whether it is crime or anything else.
The second part is “The Stickiness Factor”. This refers to
the ability of something, let’s say an advertisement to “stick”. Gladwell brings
up the smoking advertisement. By saying that their cigarettes taste better than
the other cigarette brands they make their brand stick and therefore were able
to surpass the other brands in sales.
Lastly is “The Power of Context”. Earlier I mentioned the
“bystander effect”. This effect falls into the power of context. This also
explains social relationships. He uses the example of the woman “Kitty” who
gets stabbed on a New York street as 38 witnesses watched from their
apartments. No one called for help. The bystander effect states that people are
less likely to assume responsibility when there are other people around. If
someone faked a stroke and there was only one person next door they were very
likely to come over and call for help. If there were more people, they were
only 30 percent likely to call for help. People simply assume that other people
will take care of the matter.
The Tipping Point is an eye-opening book that
describes so many aspects that relate to our daily lives and societal phenomenons.
It covers a vast area of topics and describes how trends can be contagious. We
often think of diseases and sickness when we think of the word “contagious” but
Malcolm Gladwell assures us that this word can be applied to other aspects of
our lives. I would definitely recommend this
book to anyone who is looking for an eye opening experience. It’s said that one
person cannot make a difference but the tipping point counters that statement. The
smallest of effects can result in the biggest changes to our world.
