The Tipping Point - Starting a Social Epidemic
October 4th 2006 20:41
I was scanning down the list of books I’ve read so far this year and thought … which would I select as the most interesting? Normally I lean towards fiction – but I do read the odd non-fiction now and again. It has to be a topic that holds my interest though and the writing has to be engaging (I don’t want much), so sometimes I find myself reading matters on social issues, politics, maybe a little religion (history and ramifications of) and travelogues.
But the choice for my favourite this year was made easy, simply because of a book I came across completely by chance, which seems to happen to me a lot. A few nights previous, I was flicking around the TV when I chanced on an ABC programme, (can’t remember which one). They were discussing the ‘tipping point’, but the show finished before I could get the gist of it.
Though I was intrigued, I thought nothing more of it until the next day while checking in returns at the library – what should I find in my hand– a book by Malcolm Gladwell called, you guessed it, The Tipping Point : How little things can make a big difference. Now, to be honest, without the chance snippet I got on TV the night before, I probably wouldn’t have looked twice at this book. But, that’s the great thing about serendipity isn’t it? I mean … I was meant to read this book!
And what a great read it is. Gladwell covers a lot of ground here. You discover answers to things you had no idea were questions! There are well contrived explanations for contagious yawning, wearing of Hush Puppies, graffiti, teen suicides, word-of-mouth and the popularity of Big Bird. You may not see the connection here, but all of these things are a form of epidemic. And they’re everywhere! This is like trendy sociology. Happening today, so it’s relevant and a lot of fun to read.
Gladwell himself likes to call his book ‘an intellectual adventure story’ and I would have to agree with him. You find yourself in completely new ground and seeing things in a new light – and it all makes sense. In his own words … ‘it takes theories and ideas from the social sciences and shows how they can have real relevance to our lives.’
So if you’re feeling like you want to exercise your mind - which is exactly what this book does, check it out on the Malcolm Gladwell links in this article. You can read excerpts from the book and he also answers questions and gives you a reading list. It’s a great site, and you don’t have to be an intellectual to take it all in. Just mildly curious.
Image: gladwell.com
But the choice for my favourite this year was made easy, simply because of a book I came across completely by chance, which seems to happen to me a lot. A few nights previous, I was flicking around the TV when I chanced on an ABC programme, (can’t remember which one). They were discussing the ‘tipping point’, but the show finished before I could get the gist of it.
Though I was intrigued, I thought nothing more of it until the next day while checking in returns at the library – what should I find in my hand– a book by Malcolm Gladwell called, you guessed it, The Tipping Point : How little things can make a big difference. Now, to be honest, without the chance snippet I got on TV the night before, I probably wouldn’t have looked twice at this book. But, that’s the great thing about serendipity isn’t it? I mean … I was meant to read this book!
And what a great read it is. Gladwell covers a lot of ground here. You discover answers to things you had no idea were questions! There are well contrived explanations for contagious yawning, wearing of Hush Puppies, graffiti, teen suicides, word-of-mouth and the popularity of Big Bird. You may not see the connection here, but all of these things are a form of epidemic. And they’re everywhere! This is like trendy sociology. Happening today, so it’s relevant and a lot of fun to read.
Gladwell himself likes to call his book ‘an intellectual adventure story’ and I would have to agree with him. You find yourself in completely new ground and seeing things in a new light – and it all makes sense. In his own words … ‘it takes theories and ideas from the social sciences and shows how they can have real relevance to our lives.’
So if you’re feeling like you want to exercise your mind - which is exactly what this book does, check it out on the Malcolm Gladwell links in this article. You can read excerpts from the book and he also answers questions and gives you a reading list. It’s a great site, and you don’t have to be an intellectual to take it all in. Just mildly curious.
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