Malcolm Gladwell's book The Tipping Point offers a fascinating and insightful way to think about the issue of epidemics. Those elements Gladwell believes are the basis for why epidemics start allows the reader to think about their world in a way they never thought they could. I would not have thought of Sesame Street or Blue's clues as being defined as epidemics. When one thinks of an epidemic, one thinks of AIDS, or some form of disease so widespread that it must be contained and a cure provided to keep the disease in check from spreading further. Therefore, after reading the book, the reader is left with a new perspective to "look at the subtle, the hidden, and the unspoken" (Gladwell, 2002, pg. 80). Those things in everyday life that we …show more content…
There are no instances where he does not provide the reader with an example to demonstrate his points, to provide a basis from which to get a better understanding of the terminology and concepts used. The effective use of practical examples by Gladwell throughout the book allows the reader to become an interactive reader not a passive reader. If the examples he used in the book did not apply to the lives of the readers then Gladwell would loose the reader. He truly does promote the idea that "we are attuned to personal cues than contextual cues. The reader would not continue to read on and stop and think of examples in their own lives. For example, his use of the study of cultural microrhythms by William Condon and his use of his experience with Tom Gau to further demonstrate the meaning of interactional synchrony. What Gladwell does not do effectively is provide numerous examples of ideas/behaviors/products that did not result in epidemics. A chapter should have been devoted to showing just why something would not result in an epidemic so that a balance is met showing both sides of the picture to answer his fundamental question of why some things become epidemics and others do not. EPIDEMICS as INCIDENTAL Gladwell, at the start of the book, portrays epidemics as incidental, out of the hands of the individual as in the Hush Puppies example. But then all other examples are set up as being intentional, that people can make epidemics happen. Epidemics,
An ineffective device used by Gladwell was his use of repetition of evidence and failure to acknowledge counterexamples by forcing the reader into thinking that Gladwell’s theory is the only one possible to be correct. The lack of acknowledgment towards counterexamples thrusts the audience into thinking that Gladwell’s opinion is the only viable one. “Philip Norman, who wrote the Beatles biography”, “nonstop show, hour after hour”, “Here is John Lennon”, and “playing all night long” are examples of repetition of evidence because the author already established that the
Gladwell carefully constructs his argument by offering the real life story of Bernie Goetz. Gladwell uses this example in order to provide a
Throughout Gladwell’s text he uses many paradigms. The first paradigm that he uses is in the introduction of the book. Gladwell begins by using a small town in Pennsylvania called Roseto. There was something very unique about this town. A doctor named Stewart Wolfe he found that the rates of heart disease in this little town were significantly less for those under the age of sixty-five, which during the time heart disease was a huge epidemic. Wolfe began to research the obvious things that one would believe to have an impact on heart disease. He looked at diet
Gladwell uses strong anecdotes and studies to prove all the claims he presents throughout his book. He explains he evidence well and ties everything back to the point he is trying to prove. This helps further understand Gladwell’s argument. But, even though Gladwell uses multiple anecdotes and studies to support his claims, the problem that is faced is that he merely suggests his sources are correct but never
The term epidemic is typically used in relation to the spread of a disease however; in the mid 1980’s this term was attached to crack cocaine. The crack cocaine epidemic described the impact of a newly created drug on most U.S. cities in the northeast and Mid Atlantic. Washington, D.C. provided the perfect setting for crack cocaine to flourish. Plenty of low-income inner city housing projects complete with open air drug markets labeled D.C. as a leading U.S. city with a major crack cocaine problem. As crack cocaine became a national talking point the federal government stepped in to curb its use. Congress along
Another way that proves that Gladwell better answers the essential question is through a different use of logos, going in depth in the experiments made by psychologists. A quote that supports this claim is, "The striking thing about Ericsson's study is that he
An epidemic occurs when a disease spreads to more people in one area then usually happens. There have been many epidemics in history that have had devastating effects. Two epidemics that occurred right here in the United States were cholera and scarlet fever. From the 1830’s to the 1860’s, cholera spread throughout the United States killing many people. And in the late 1850’s scarlet fever spread throughout the New England area of the United States. For both of these terrible diseases it is not clear what stopped their rapid spread. Today there is a vaccine for cholera but not for scarlet fever. However, there are ways to protect yourself from catching these diseases. New and stronger illnesses seem to be happening all the time and are in the news. However, we still need to be aware of these diseases from the past so we can keep ourselves healthy.
The first device that Gladwell takes advantage of is plot progression. For the first chunk of the introduction, Gladwell utilizes a story about a forged Greek Kouros statue, and the
By using these stories, it appears as though Gladwell has a complete adequate research. Gladwell writes with a more confident, thoughtful, and authoritative tone that allows him to craft a rhetorically efficient argument. As a professional journalist, with a degree in history, working for reputable publishing companies for 26 years, Gladwell appears more than capable of establishing a reliable article. He displays this knowledge with not only the intellectual language and writing style he uses, but also the way he organizes his article and builds his argument makes it rhetorically effective and
The processes and mechanisms with which some tendencies reach exponential popularity, while others shine and vanish into oblivion, have long been considered mysterious and resistant to analysis. However, Gladwell's central argument is that there are actually a number of models and factors that are at stake in virtually every influential trend, from the spread of transmissible diseases to the unprecedented popularity of a particular television program for
Malcolm Gladwell's publish book tipping point in 2000 main them of the book is that How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. The tipping point, is the moment at which an idea clips on and spreads. He uses the symbol of epidemics that how an idea, messages and products spread he also arise a question that Why is it that some ideas or products start epidemics and others don't?
There is a lot more to epidemics is what Gladwell believes. They are a function of humans who transfer infectious agents, the agent itself and the environment in which the infectious agent is operated. When an epidemic is coming it is through the equilibrium, it tips because something has happened, and there has been something that has changed. The three agents Gladwell calls the law of epidemics are Law of the few, the stickiness factor and the power of the context.
Throughout the world of modern science, the human race is faced with a broad range of problems that require strong, valid solutions. This concept is apparent then in The New Yorker’s, “The Deadliest Virus” and in Popular Science’s, “Out of the wild”. While both pieces of work address the topic of the worldwide spreading of dangerous viruses in today’s society, each brings up individual arguments explaining scientific research completed behind such viruses and what role such research should play in delivering such information to the public. These works also give informative, detailed observations and data which provides the reader an opportunity to create his own opinion on such important current events. These findings are provided which gives a form of validity to each claim made in these two pieces of work, however bias and a lack of testable, reproducible data create holes that leave the reader 's imagination and personal morals to determine their own point of view.
For example, section one of chapter four of the text compares the difficult, split-second decisions people of the military make in battle to that of the equally as daunting choices “nurses, intensive care units, firefighters, and other people… make under pressure.” (Gladwell, 107). The book is also outstanding in giving the reader examples of the tests used on subjects in experiments to take a hands on approach to the learning and make the reading experience more enjoyable. One particularly interesting case illustrates to the reader how the subconscious mind is sometimes biased at making decisions due to outside influences ingrained in our minds. On pages 82 and 83, the reader can find it grueling to answer certain questions, as the test measures “racial attitudes on an unconscious level,” (Gladwell, 84). After experiencing the struggle, the reader can better relate to Gladwell as he explains the meaning of the experiment, ergo having an increase in comprehending the main idea of the
Process that is accelerating from the late fifteenth century. Before that, we were dealing with two different situations: either a pathogen was spreading throughout the world, but in so long that we could not possibly speak of epidemic; or epidemics broadcast over large areas but never reaching a global level. The Black Death epidemic in 1347- 1352, for example, was not global, it affected only a