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Sophia White

December 16, 2015


Period 1
Non-Fiction Reading Assignment: The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Part One: Argument Identification
1. The best way to understand mysterious sociological changes that mark everyday life,
such as the emergence of fashion trends, the ebb and flow of crime waves or the
transformation of unknown books into best sellers, is to think of them as contagious
epidemics.
2. The success of any kind of social epidemic is dependent on the involvement of people
with a particular and rare set of social gifts, such as connectors, who introduce people and
ideas to each other, mavens, who are information specialists, or salespeople, who are able
to powerfully negotiate.
3. The creation of a trend depends not only upon the messenger whos trying to make an
idea spread, but also upon the content and quality of the message, or its level of
stickiness.
4. Contagiousness depends on the function of the messenger while stickiness is primarily a
property of the message itself; therefore the two ideas are separate entities.
5. In order to make sense of social epidemics, it is critical to understand the human
interaction involved and the idea that people can radically transform their behavior or
beliefs if properly motivated.

Sophia White
December 16, 2015
Period 1
The Human Capability to Inflict Change
Our everyday lives are characterized by unpredictable and fluctuant trends. Breakout
musical artists songs soar their way up the top charts like lightning. Fashion trends that were
once wildly popular among older generations suddenly resurface among teens. Crime rates have
the ability to mysteriously shoot drastically up or down. The rise and fall of social phenomenons
such as these determine how we behave and what we choose to take interest in, but we often
dont think about why or how they occur. In order to make sense of social epidemics, it is critical
to understand the human interaction involved and the idea that people can radically transform
their behavior or beliefs if properly motivated.
Sociological changes dont just occur randomly; they are a large scale result of human
communication and response. It takes a certain kind of person to successfully create a social
epidemic. People who are able to initially spread ideas that blow up dont simply just do what
they think is right; they deliberately test their intuitions and are not afraid to take risks. They use
their knowledge, connections, and persuasiveness to promote an idea. In The Tipping Point,
Malcolm Gladwell seeks to explain social epidemics, and one way he does this is by citing
various examples of people who made little changes that inflicted a much greater impact. New
York City officials decided to start making relatively small attempts to combat crime, for
example, such as removing graffiti from the subways and clamping down on fare dodging. The
crime rate in the city was proven to be subsequently lower as a result of the measures taken.
Another example he provides is the suicide of a young charismatic Micronesian, which set off an
epidemic of suicides there that lasted for a decade. The initial individual who took his life
probably wasnt aware of the social impact his action would have, but nonetheless a huge effect

was created, and it wasnt just coincidence. His suicide was representative of an extreme
hardship he faced in his community, which others obviously empathized with and then followed
his lead. Whether people carry out small changes subconsciously or not, they often have
significant social implications because of the human response involved.
Once a social epidemic is incited, its not long before the effect will be great. The reason
for this is that humans have an intrinsic need to feel accepted, therefore they tend to follow the
norm. We like to think of ourselves as autonomous and inner-directed, that who we are and how
we act is something permanently set by our genes and our temperament, Gladwell says (258).
But in reality we are so powerfully influenced by our surroundings and the personalities of those
around us. Looking closely at complex behaviors like smoking, suicide, or crime can begin to
reveal how suggestible we are in the face of what we see and hear, and how acutely sensitive we
are to even the most minute details of everyday life. Its why social change is so fluctuating and
inexplicable, because it is the nature of humans to be inexplicable.
The contagious and continuous spread of different ideas, products, messages, and
behaviors is a mysterious concept which probably never has the capacity to be fully understood,
but it starts with a unique set of individuals and spreads like wildfire from there, feeding on basic
human nature and response. Perhaps if there existed a better understanding of a method for
reaching people to create widespread social change, society could use it for the better. There are
many ways to look at the sociological changes that mark everyday life, but not without first
understanding the role of human interaction and intrinsic motivation to inflict change.

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