(How Little Things
Can Make a Big Difference)
Can Make a Big Difference)
Another fascinating and intriguing book!
The Book Description on Amazon says:
“The tipping point is that magic moment
when an idea, trend, or social behavior
crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.
Just as a single sick person
can start an epidemic of the flu,
so too can a small but precisely targeted push
cause a fashion trend,
the popularity of a new product,
or a drop in the crime rate.
This widely acclaimed bestseller,
in which Malcolm Gladwell explores
and brilliantly illuminates the tipping point phenomenon,
is already changing the way people
throughout the world think
about selling products and disseminating ideas.”
Gladwell cites the three rules of epidemics:
The Law of the Few;
The Stickiness Factor;
and The Power of Context.
Other fascinating issues dealt with
how a handful of kids gave Hush Puppies a resurgence.
They liked them, because they were retro;
and no one was else was wearing them.
But being trendsetters,
soon most everyone else started wearing them too.
He even points out why and how
Paul Revere did a much better job than William Dawes
of warning the colonists that the British were coming.
(I dare say that had only William Dawes rode,
we’d be about due for afternoon tea and crumpets.
Plus, we’d have to drive on the left side of the road
and sing Long Live the Queen.)
Relating to the drop in the crime rate,
the Broken Windows theory plays a big part.
This theory which was created
by criminologists James Q. Wilson
and George Kelling
states, as cited by Gladwell:
“If a window is broken and left unrepaired,
people walking by will conclude
that no one cares and no one is in charge.
Soon, more windows will be broken,
and the sense of anarchy will spread
from the building to the street on which it faces,
sending a signal that anything goes.”
Gladwell then showed how this theory played out
regarding the level of crime on New York subways.
Once the authorities cleaned away the graffiti
and stopped people from sneaking onboard without paying,
violent crimes dropped significantly.
Crazy to think that a little graffiti can get someone killed,
but that seems to be the case.
He also talked about
how Big Bird saved Sesame Street.
His suggestion for preventing teens
from becoming addicted to cigarettes
is for the tobacco companies
to lower the amount of nicotine they use.
(But I doubt they’ll do that,
since they thrive on teens becoming addicted.
They need a new generation
to replace the ones that keep dying off.)
In a sense,
this book presents another type
of David and Goliath story
where little David efforts leads to Goliath outcomes.
If you want to gain more insights into how life works,
read the books of Malcolm Gladwell.
If you just want to laugh and have a good time,
read mine.
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell's David and Goliath
Click Here to Shop at Amazon!
Brian Regan:
Reading is hard.
You ever try that?
I read good.
Goodly.
But I hate when you're trying to read something
and you come across the expression
'One thing led to another'.
What in the h*ll kind of lazy writing is that?
Isn't that your job as the writer
to tell me how this led to that?
You can just throw that in there?
"Adolf Hitler was rejected as a young man
on his application to art school...
One thing led to another...
And the United States dropped two atomic bombs
on the sovereign nation of Japan."
This is some pamphlet!
Ray Divine:
What can be said about a town
where bookstores close,
but tattoo parlors abound?
Dean Burkey:
Reading is fun and mental.
Groucho Marx:
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
Jim Gaffigan:
You ever talk about a movie
with someone that read the book?
They're always so condescending.
'Ah, the book was much better than the movie.'
Oh really?
What I enjoyed about the movie?
No reading.
