The Tipping Point

From "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell, he explains the idea that all epidemics are started by a few people, which then gives permission to others to follow. Gladwell uses the examples of Hush Puppies making a comeback in the fashion world, crime rates going down, suicide becoming more acceptable, and smoking as not cool, but something done by cool people. Within these examples, it usually begins by the influence of one person or more people that start a trend that makes everyone want to try it out. By experiencing this new found image, they believe they are cool or better than they were before. It may not be good, but it is the image that everyone so desperately desires. Gladwell characterizes three ways in which these epidemics occur: 1- contagiousness, 2- the fact that little causes can have a big effects, and 3- that change happens not gradually but at one dramatic moment. I think that as sad as it is to hear these stories and how influential little things can become, it is a true and still current issue in today's culture.