Tipping Point Summary: Intro and Chapter 1

The author Malcolm Gladwell raises the readers awareness of epidemics and what factors cause them to "tip" or spread like viruses. For example, in the Introduction he states how the Hush Puppies shoe went from phasing out to becoming the number one shoe being sold in America. It was simply because two individuals wanted to be different from everyone else. Gladwell also goes on to say how the crime rates in New York City drastically dropped in such a short period of time. He compares these two epidemics by saying, "They are clear examples of contagious behavior." He provides the reader with a typical contagious moment such as yawning to further explain his idea.
In chapter one Gladwell provides various references for the reason Baltimore was attacked by a syphilis epidemic in the mid 1990s. He stated that the epicdemic was thrown out of equilibrium and it tipped. In this chapter he also talks about the three rules of epidemics in great detail. He explains the "Law of the Few" as the 80/20 principle which means that 80 percent of the work will be done by 20 percent of the people. The second law, "The Stickiness Factor," explains specific ways of making a contagious message memorable. For example, the Winston cigarette slogan helped the company tip into second place as the all time best cigarette seller in the United States. Finally, the third law, "The Power of Context," shows how human beings are a lot more sensitive to their environment than they may seem. He mentioned the murder of Kitty Genovese and the bystander problem. In this situation, when less people are around, the more likely a person will be to help a victim in need and visa versa. These three basic rules of epidemics will help prepare the reader for the remainder of the book and allow for further questioning and investigation.