While forging the ideas of psychoanalysis, Dr. Sigmund Freud attempted to explain why individuals act as they do. His examination of human behavior was microscopic, detailing the uneasy balance between the divergent parts of the psyche. "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" succeeds in doing the same on a macroscopic scale.
Author Malcolm Gladwell introduces his theory of social epidemics, combining this powerful idea, a first-person perspective and evidence ranging from crime waves to fashion trends to create an engaging discourse on sociology that leaves the reader with a redefined outlook on the way society works.
"Point" is a brilliant synthesis of case studies, interviews and behavioral experiments, the sum of which is much like a social adaptation of the domino theory. If an idea, Gladwell argues, is spread to people of the three critical groups which he distinguishes as Mavens, Connectors and Salesmen, it will rapidly be disseminated to the masses.
In a social epidemic, Mavens are responsible for the trend at its genesis. These are people, Gladwell says, who are always on the cutting edge. Mavens, then spread the idea to Connectors, people who, simply due to their personality and experiences, float between many social circles, thus giving the trend widespread distribution. Once touched by this growing social epidemic, Salesmen play the role of pushing the trend to others.
This process is similar to a biological infection; the spread of social trends is relatively slow at first, builds up steam, and then seems to explode throughout society, just as a virus multiplies exponentially within its host. The exact moment when this explosion takes place Gladwell calls the Tipping Point.
In the abstract the theory of the Tipping Point is a bit hard to swallow. The real task that Gladwell takes up with "Point" is to provide easily relatable and in-depth examples of social epidemics.
This is where the strength of the book lies; an excellent Salesman himself, Gladwell includes examples of his theory in effect so varied that one cannot help but be awed at the forces that move society.
"Point" begins with a case study -- Gladwell documents the resurgence of Hush Puppies, the shoes which, late in 1994, exploded onto the fashion scene not as conservative footwear but as haute couture. The fad began with teens in the East Village of New York City who bought the old shoes from thrift stores and mens' shops; they wore them to identify themselves as different.
These East Village kids were the Mavens in the Hush Puppies explosion. The shoes were noticed by stylists working for designers John Bartlett and Anna Sui (Connectors); who had their models wear the reemerging Hush Puppies on the runway. The fashion show was the Hush Puppies' tipping point; from there the shoes' annual sales rose by over 500 percent.
Teenage smoking, suicide, best-selling novels, crime waves, urban decay and even the success of Paul Revere's ride are all examples used by Gladwell to demonstrate his theory. In doing so, Gladwell includes aspects of anthropology, sociology, psychology, marketing and cognitive science. "Point" informs the reader while it simultaneously entertains; Gladwell's book teaches the reader without becoming didactic.
The author does have a tendency to spend large portions of the book examining tangents with only peripheral relation to his own theory. Gladwell spends a great deal of "Point" going into in-depth discussion of the techniques used on "Sesame Street" and the newer "Blues' Clues," and while the investigation does provide incredible insight into the learning process and is itself an interesting topic, it does not do much to directly support his own idea. The same is true in the extreme of his definition of "The Rule of 150", which Gladwell uses to diagram interpersonal relations and which again is a fascinating subject but does not directly correlate to the Tipping Point theory.
That said, "Point" remains an excellent read with a valuable and optimistic message at its core -- that large-scale changes can result from small origins. The Tipping Point is a thoroughly thought-provoking examination of the mechanisms of societal change that receives the highest recommendation and will be an engaging experience for any open-minded reader.
