The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, a non-fiction book by Malcolm Gladwell, demonstrates how three requisite factors create and spread cultural phenomena, what Gladwell likens to a verbal epidemic. Gladwell asks, and answers, why some bits of culture—TV shows, personalities, songs, you name it—catch on (“go viral” in more modern parlance) and others do not. He argues that these three prerequisites, including the law of the few, the stickiness factor, and the power of context, converges to make something “tip.” Supported by sufficient experimental evidence, Gladwell’s theories are innovative and convincing. 

The law of the few means that a selective group of individuals played crucial roles in disseminating information. They are connectors, people who know a variety of people; mavens, people who accumulate knowledge and love helping others; and salesmen, people who persuade others to adopt ideas. Through a literature review, Gladwell presents, writ small, the nature of the society: a pyramid with connectors at the top, or, in other words, a network centrally commanded by the connectors to spread cultural information. 

I can relate, finding vivid examples in my daily life to match Gladwell’s argument. My aunt, for instance, played the role of connector and maven on the pickle-ball court. Other people might immediately leave after finishing a game. However, my aunt will release her social energy: friendly chatting with her teammates and rivals, talking about her company and hobbies, and adding others’ social media accounts to hers, building her network. In addition, she often attends parties and social gatherings, such as enjoying afternoon tea with her high school classmates, colleagues, and relatives. Consequently, she boasts over three thousand friends on her social media, in stark contrast to my modest count of fewer than two hundred. Furthermore, she frequently makes recommendations to those friends and followers that catch on. After visiting multiple yoga studios, she will evaluate their qualities and share her experience with her network. If she thinks the yoga gym is great, she will inform everyone she knows and encourage them to try it. In this way, her reviews of local yoga studios spread widely. 

Next, Gladwell emphasizes the power of context. He points out a common misconception that personalities do not change. Instead, he argues, under different circumstances, people might conduct distinct behaviors. Gladwell cites the famous Stanford prison experiment to illustrate this point. In the experiment, participants were randomly assigned the identity of prisoners or guards in a mock prison setting. After only six days, the guards became cruel, unlike their former selves, and exhibited extreme and unethical behaviors such as abusing the prisoners. Gladwell highlighted that the personalities of a normal and healthy person could, therefore be shaped and distorted by environments. This theory also applies to me. Once my writing assignment was due in an hour and I had not yet written a word of it, so I became irritable, refusing to talk with anyone. I scratched at my hair, cursing myself, grumbling about everything. However, when I successfully submitted my essay, I again became my usual talkative and energetic self, chatting with my friend until midnight. In a single night, my attitude and behaviors changed dramatically, which could be attributed to the power of different contexts. 

Overall, the arguments of this book are strong and backed up by empirical evidence. It provides its readers with practical suggestions about how to best to create the conditions to make something popular… which will be helpful when I try to get my favorite song to catch on at my school.