The Tipping Point: a Summary

According to Gladwell’s “Law of the Few,” the successes of social epidemics are attributed to the efforts of three types of individuals: the connectors, mavens, and salesmen. First, he uses the example of Paul Revere’s ride to spread news warning the local revolutionary leaders about the incoming British. These leaders would, in turn, spread the word to others. Paul Revere is the successful social man in this example. Gladwell states that, “The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the

Throughout The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell explains to his reader his ideas about drastic changes in society, and how they seem to occur so rapidly. In this particular selection, Gladwell emphasizes the purpose of “connectors”, saying that they have a “special gift for bringing the world together (page 38)”. Gladwell states that part of the reason information or trends spread like wildfire is the presence of a specific group of people. They are called “connecters”, and they are people who know, or are connected to, people of “different worlds (page 51)”, and bring them together. In his book, The Tipping Point, Gladwell uses different forms of persuasion, rhetorical questions, and organization to

Society is stocked full of various trends and epidemics. To many, the way in which these trends start is a mystery. As members of a society, we often subconsciously take part in these patterns without questioning our participation. Therefore, people continue to ignore the drastic changes in society, and the reasons why they occur so swiftly. There is a lack of motivation to take a step back and inquire about society as a whole, and rethink one’s actions. In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell effectively discusses and analyzes how and why ideas spread throughout societies using the rhetorical appeals, ethos, pathos and logos.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell looks at a number of social epidemics and analyzes their build up to the point where they tip. “Tipping” is that point where an epidemic booms, or grows, to its maximum potential. Gladwell begins defining “tipping” with a literal example of the famous shoes, Hush Puppies. Once considered old-fashioned, Hush Puppies experienced a social boom in the mid-90s when hipsters in New York made them trendy again. Gladwell continues explaining “tipping” with a medical epidemic of syphilis in Baltimore. Gladwell introduces us to three essential rules of epidemics: the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor and the Power of Context. The Law of the Few says a key factor in epidemics is the role of the messenger: it

In his New York Times article titled The Capitalist; The Case Against Tipping, Michel Lewis wonders whether tipping really serves any significant purpose. In his own words, "no lawful behavior in the marketplace is as disturbing to me as the growing appeals for gratuities." Lewis is convinced that people should not be rewarded for doing something they are paid to do in the first place.

Some believe crime is committed due to poverty or desperation, others believe its committed in view of envy, and on the other hand, Gladwell believes crime is committed due to the surroundings of an individual. In ‘The Power of Context,’ Gladwell discusses the occurrence of crime in New York, stating that its major cause is the immediate environment one is in. Gladwell believes that the environment we’re in has a major effect on our behavior and eventually it makes us act according to it. Gladwell goes to great measures to prove his point, stating number of examples, including a number of major theories. However, is the environment really the only determinant of our actions? Gladwell tries to convince the audience that in the end it is the surroundings of an individual and the small things that matter. Trying to convince the audience and make them agree with him, Gladwell uses some big concepts and examples of crime in New York to prove to his audience that in the end, it actually is the small things or the ‘Tipping Points’ that make a completely normal human being commit a crime.

How big is the world? Some might ponder and the answer is, not as big as it seems. The world isn’t a scary, huge and untouchable place, as it is perceived to be. In reality, the universe is just a blank canvas filled with unique and mesmerizing people. That shapes our world into what it has become. The world would never be what it is without the people living on it. In the Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell explains the theory of the world and how it seems to be and control everything. Although, it’s the people in the world that make a difference. However people don’t believe they can change and make a difference in the world, but they can. Everyone has the power to change the world and shape their lives and others. Therefore it's up to them to decide if it will be for good or evil. In The Tipping point, Malcolm Gladwell uses the motif of how little things can make a big difference, for example, hush puppies. This motif signifies how the slightest movement in just the right place can change the world completely. We all have the power, but it can just take one to change the world.

In the article, “Is Broken Windows a Broken Theory of Crime?” Kevin Drum defines the Broken Windows theory as a theory which “suggests that tolerance of small acts of disorder creates an environment that leads to rising amounts of serious crime. So if police crack down on small offenses – petty vandalism, public lewdness, etc. – crime reductions will follow” Though this theory has been around for a long time, it is still not a sound theory of crime.

In the chapter, "Crime Control in America," Reiman suggests that the system has been designed to fail. Imprisoning drug offenders, for instance, does nothing to reduce the number of drug offenders in society because they are immediately replaced. The decline in violent crime is more attributable to demographic changes than to enforcement efforts. Most of the decline in crime results from forces beyond the control of the criminal justice systems. Reiman also feels that we could reduce crime if we wanted to do so, and that our excuses are not really answers to the problem, but merely excuses to explain why the system fails. We know the causes of crime—poverty, prison, and drugs—yet we do nothing to change how these things operate, such as banning guns and decriminalizing drugs.

4) How would you relate “the law of the few” to a transition management team?

The reasons incarceration rates raised 500% in the last thirty years had to do with neoliberalism and its use of the prisons and incarceration as means of social control. (Simon) When government does not have social programs it creates crime to give an appearance of governance and to keep people obedient.

The decline in violent crime is more attributable to demographic changes than to enforcement efforts. Most of the decline in crime results from forces beyond the control of the criminal justice systems. Reiman also feels that we could reduce crime if we wanted to do so, and that our excuses are not really answers to the problem, but merely excuses to explain why the system fails. We know the causes of crime—poverty, prison, and drugs—yet we do nothing to change how these things operate, such as banning guns and decriminalizing drugs.

What can one consider being a tipping point in a situation. Is it when a situation changes from bad to worse? Could it be when it changes from good to better? Or could it be from when it changes from a bad situation and all of a sudden it turns around and becomes good? In my essay we are going to explore the tipping point from four different authors: Malcolm Gladwell, Mary G. King, Lynne M. Anderson, and Christine M. Pearson. From subject of: hush puppies, teen suicide, crime, smoking, incivility in the workplace and the black women’s breakthrough into clerical work. There could be many reasons why there were tipping

The causes of crime seem to be indefinite and ever changing. In the 19th century, slum poverty was blamed; in the 20th century, a childhood without love was blamed (Adams 152). In the era going into the new millennium, most experts and theorists have given up all hope in trying to pinpoint one single aspect that causes crime. Many experts believe some people are natural born criminals who are born with criminal mindsets, and this is unchangeable. However, criminals are not a product of heredity. They are a product of their environment and how they react to it. This may seem like a bogus assumption, but is undoubtedly true.

“While elected officials are charged with managing the administration of criminal justice, they always do so with an eye toward politics, and herein lies an important source of the tension between the pursuit of coherent policy