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William Carr
Jared Grogan
English 1020, Sec 031
22 March 2016
The Overflow of a Tipping Point
“Dude, did you hear about that new brand of shoelaces? Everyone is wearing
them!” On a daily basis, you are being informed about the newest and hottest trend. But
what determines this sociological change? How can the fame of an object grow
exponentially in a matter of days? Malcolm Gladwell analyzed in depth the process in
which an unknown develops into a trend. In The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can
Make a Big Difference, Gladwell makes the case that the best way to understand a wide
range of sociological alteration is to inspect the threshold or ‘tipping point’ and the three
principles that help determine this point. The argument hinges on an initial comparison
between tipping points and epidemics, operational definitions of his three principles,
support from vivid examples, grounding in case studies, clever analogies, and a proposal
argument.
Merriam-Webster defines an epidemic as an adjective that affects a large number
of individuals within a population, community, or region at the same time (MerriamWebster). Almost always used in the medical sense, Malcolm Gladwell argues that there
is a literal analogy between a deadly disease and a product. He states, “Ideas can be
contagious in exactly the same way that a virus is.” One key aspect that appears all across
the board is prevalence of a tipping point. This threshold can be applied to any epidemic
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whether it is social or biological. To get a broader understanding, imagine pouring
yourself cup of water. You keep filling and filling until you realize that you let the liquid
overflow. The precise moment in which the cup was filled to maximum capacity is
compared to an epidemic’s tipping point. Once you pass this threshold, there is no going
back. Gladwell continued to investigate the change that happens in society and claimed
that every tipping point must have three conditions in which to successfully excel past the
threshold.
Malcolm Gladwell does an excellent job claiming that this tipping point can be
applied to more than just epidemiology and diseases. And if he is right about the three
principles I found the idea of the tipping point to be interesting and beneficial. Yet, as I
sat reading I noticed that Gladwell does nothing but provide evidence after evidence after
evidence that the tipping point exists, which gets repetitive. But he does give his
argument a backbone by using key techniques, which is essential.
An important move Malcolm Gladwell uses to support his thesis is by
operationally defining his three principles of a tipping point to have. Operational
definitions allow a researcher to independently measure or test for observable behavior.
Take for example the word hunger. Since there is no true definition, an operational one is
created. In this case, hunger could be defined as a time standard between meals measured
in minutes. There is no true definition to it but by using an operational definition to
specify what is being measured, the audience can understand the term in the way the
author is using it. The three principles: The Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and
the Power of Context, are all explained in ways that allow others to successfully
understand and utilize.
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Take the Law of the Few for example. Gladwell breaks down how different
people – called Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen – effect and contribute to the way
information is spread. He uses precise descriptions to determine how each one plays a
major role in the tipping point. Gladwell uses the measurement of the “80/20 principle”
to put a number on how the Law of the Few is identified. “[This] idea that in any
situation roughly 80 percent of the ‘work’ will be done by 20 percent of the participants,”
he states, “ Using this allows readers to identify these principles independently in relation
to themselves. He starts to describe each aspect by comparing to infections and ends up
giving real life examples backed by research. These vivid examples are also of
importance to Gladwell’s argument.
Obviously, any argument needs to have relation to real world situations to even be
considered logical. Gladwell does a nice job by giving his argument a higher reputation
and a true meaning. All principle definitions are supported by vivid examples, in which
Gladwell uses a smorgasbord of recent trends – relative to the time the book was
published – that were outrageously popular for no apparent reason like Hush Puppies and
syphilis. Seeing how the tipping point can be applied to everyday social factors, the
audience starts to make the comparison between disease epidemics and social epidemics.
Even though case studies are flawed due to the small percentage of people
represented, they can be used to show what could happen. Grounded in research,
Malcolm Gladwell provided scientific and sociologic evidence of his thesis. He devoted
two full sections of his text to explain research he dug up. The first case study he uses is
about Airwalk Shoes. But what Gladwell lacks in his argument is really describing the
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topic of Airwalk and how they became popular. Instead he uses more examples to explain
his example, which paradoxically creates to a circular argument.
Malcolm Gladwell is successful for paving the way for future studies on the
concept of the tipping point. However, by using weak, underdeveloped, examples and not
offering a proposal on how to handle the tipping point, Gladwell’s book falls short of
being great. Although some readers might feel as if The Tipping Point: How Little Things
Can Make a Big Difference is so creative and innovational, I took the scientific approach
and asked questions.
As I finished up the last remaining pages, I felt like I have wasted my time. I was
sure I could have read the same amount of information on SparkNotes instead of reading
over 200 repetitive pages. One huge problem Mr. Gladwell has with his writing is the
explanation and reasoning portion to his claims. I did not get any explanation on why or
how this happens, but instead got an explanation by using 13 more real life examples.
Okay, enough with the examples, I understand and could probably identify some
situations by myself but actually explain how you reasoned to create this theory? Since
Gladwell depicts so many examples, how come there isn’t a proposition?
On his website, Malcolm Gladwell has a page dedicated to his book. When asked
what he hopes his readers can learn from the book, he states he hopes he will “show
people how to start ‘positive’ epidemics of their own” (Gladwell). However, nowhere in
his book did he propose an idea to make a beneficial social change that helps the general
population. I agree that the tipping point should be used for good, but Malcolm Gladwell
uses negative situations like teen suicide and smoking to define the tipping point.
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Why couldn’t Gladwell use the idea and theory of the tipping point to propose ideas for
recycling or eco-friendly matters? This lack of ‘what to do with the tipping point’
proposal causes a weakness in Gladwell’s book.
Now that the book is a New York Times Bestseller and over 12 years old, people
have had a chance to really understand and identify the tipping point. But what happened
to this tipping point theory? Who or what utilizes the ideas of Gladwell? Now that the
book has become a mainstream success, the idea of the tipping point has been mainly
used – or in this case misused – for economic success and self-promotion instead of
positive common good problems. There have been countless websites and books made
about how to use the tipping point for personal benefits such as Creating a Social
Learning Epidemic by Tammara Combs. Not only is this article selfish, but also it uses
the tipping point theory in a way that doesn’t promote the common good.
When people finished reading and more importantly understanding Malcolm
Gladwell one thing came to mind: the ‘get rich quick scheme’ made accessible.
Entrepreneurs and business minded people all believed that Gladwell uncovered the
secret to selling a product. But instead, the tipping point became a mainstream idea used
all across the economy. For example, in a recent Business Week article, the theory of the
tipping point is idolized for small business promotion. Is it ironic that the topic of the
tipping point went mainstream… but for the wrong reason?
Quick! Pull up a Google search and look for positive reasons to use the tipping
point. Now, use a separate tab to search for tipping point in economics. Did you notice
anything? I sure did. I found out that there are hundreds if not thousands more of
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economic reasons then morally right reasons. Malcolm Gladwell should have used a
different stasis to get a more positive outcome from his theory.
Along with no proposition for a better tomorrow, the ‘flow’ of the book is not
perceivable. By flow I mean how a book ties together neatly. Gladwell just tries to fit a
square peg in a circular hole. Kirk McElhearn, a freelance writer, states:
“It's interesting how a tipping point can work in reverse. When an author writes
well, he draws you into his stories, but his conclusions can be too ludicrous to
accept. When the reader reaches that point, the BS detector goes on, and one starts
noticing other stretches in logic, other concepts that just don't fit. He bandies
around facts, ideas, studies and theories, none of which fit together neatly. But if
you read the book enjoying the writing (Gladwell is a consummate journalist),
you'll simply accept his ideas without question. Sort of the "power of context" that
he describes in chapter 3, where he says that the environment where we do
something is as important as what we do” (McElhearn).
Not only is McElhearn spot on with his insight, he also uses Gladwell’s own theories
against him. As you can see, there are many flaws with The Tipping Point: How Little
Things Can Make a Big Difference.
Malcolm Gladwell is innovative and creative. Furthermore, He opens up a new
field of study and a new outlook on social trends. However, Gladwell’s book is repetitive,
underdeveloped, and doesn’t have a proposition. If Malcolm Gladwell were to rewrite or
add a part two with these key ingredients, his ideas would become great or even amazing.
Using the tipping point for positive intentions for all will not only enrich the population
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but could greatly improve our economy, culture, and life style. Malcolm Gladwell could
also benefit from not using underdeveloped and pretty general principles to justify the
tipping point. For future use, one might use the tipping point to give attention to the
millions of kids that are suffering worldwide, or to get the word out on the harmful
effects of cigarette smoking. Don’t let a theory think for you, do the thinking for yourself.