The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Meh, it is an okay book. I've read much better. A lot of useless information. I feel that the core information of this book could be presented in about half of the length that it is at.

I read "Blink" first and I thought it was descent so I decided to read this one hoping in would be awesome...... oh well.

"Darwin's Black Box" Greatest book ever!!!!!

I wish there were more books out there as interesting and thought-provoking as this one. I really don't have much more to say beyond "this book is just plain great, and you should definitely get your hands on it."

Malcolm Gladwell explains in his book The Tipping Point that it is possible for ideas, messages and behaviors to spread rapidly. Gladwell argues convincingly that to change an entire population it is not necessary to change everyone, only a small percentage of people.

The book's concept is powerful and explained very well by Gladwell. Only one slight critique. The book could have been much shorter. It provides more examples than necessary to get the point across. Having said that does not take away from the important (and useful) ideas that the book explains!

The point at which the ideas, messages or behaviors of a population changes rapidly is known as the tipping point. Similar to an epidemic, contagious behavior is caused by a small percentage of people.

Changing others by using contagious behavior has significant implications. Much can be accomplished by focusing efforts. Instead of trying to change an entire population, only a small percentage of people need to be convinced to change.

In one story about a tipping point, Malcolm Gladwell discusses how behavior of criminals in New York City was changed. This was done by understanding human behavior and implementing tactics to improve it.

In the 1980s and early 1990's the poor neighborhoods of Brownsville and East New York and their streets had every conceivable violent and dangerous crime. Crime was spreading like a virus. To combat it New York needed a stronger vaccine--in essence, an anti-crime preventative.

A common solution for lowering crime is adding more police and jails. However, this only treats the symptoms of the problem. It does nothing to address the cause of crime nor does it lower it.

To solve its crime situation, New York City implemented what is now known as the Broken Windows theory. It was the brainchild of James Q. Wilson and George Kelling who used their Critical Thinking skills to solve a major problem. Their Broken Windows theory states that if a window is broken and left un-repaired then people walking by will assume no one cares and no one is in charge. Graffiti, public disorder and aggressive panhandling are the equivalents of broken windows. They were evidence of the virus that was inviting more serious crimes in New York City.

In other words, when a place is messy, people add to the messiness. That was the root cause of the crime in New York City. The solution that the Broken Windows theory provided was to clean up the city. Then, people would have an inclination to keep it clean. That in turn would reduce the serious crime. The discovery of this simple solution has some startling implications.

The Broken Windows theory solution was put into effect in all of New York City when Rudolph Giuliani became mayor. He appointed William Bratton as chief of police. Both Giuliani and Bratton believed that by controlling the minor and seemingly insignificant quality-of-life crimes they could create a Tipping Point for dropping the crime rate.

Giuliani and Bratton executed a policy to fix all broken windows, stop panhandlers, and paint over graffiti. They literally had the streets cleaned up.

For example, Bratton's police officers arrested people for not paying their train fairs. Although a small crime, these actions sent a signal to the criminal community that crime (any crime) wouldn't be tolerated by the authorities. The offenders were taken to police stations and checked for other outstanding offenses. Seven out of ten had outstanding offenses against them.

In another example, when gang members painted their graffiti overnight on trains, the authorities had the trains re-painted by the next morning. The gang members saw their hard work created overnight eliminated. This helped break their will to paint graffiti.

The broken windows theory worked. Crime dropped precipitously. People started caring; they felt someone was in charge. They began taking better care of their city.

Overall, a great book with powerful concepts.

One "Burning Question" remains after reading this book: Where else can we apply The Tipping Point to improve the world?



The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Psychological science is a fascinating field and Malcolm Gladwell's follow-up to Blink is proof of that.

The tipping point the name given to that one dramatic moment in an epidemic when everything can change all at once. The Tipping Point is the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point. Gladwell introduces this concept in a creative way and provides real life examples of how the tipping point plays a role in teenage suicide, crime in New York city, smoking and the Hush Puppy comeback. In addition, Gladwell introduces interesting patterns in human behavior. He cites scholarly articles and studies along the way.

He discusses the Broken windows theory- Wilson and Kelling argued that crime is the inevitable result of disorder. 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 street on which it faces, sending a signal that anything goes. In a city, relatively minor problems like graffiti, public disorder, and aggressive panhandling, are all equivalent of broken windows, invitations to more serious crimes. "It is possible to be a better person on a clean street or in a clean subway than in one littered with trash and graffiti."

He also discusses our "social channel capacity" 150 is the number that represents the maximum number of individuals with whom we can have a genuinely social relationship, the kind of relationship that goes with knowing who they are and how they relate to us. Putting it another way, it's the number of people you would not feel embarrassed about joining uninvited for a drink if you happened to bump into them in a bar.

The two above are among the numerous concepts of our behavior that Gladwell discusses. The Tipping Point can easily appeal to anyone in any field. It's entertaining and edifying and it introduces academic information in a clear and original way.