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

@book{citeulike:298559, abstract = {"The best way to understand the dramatic transformation of unknown books into bestsellers, or the rise of teenage smoking, or the phenomena of word of mouth or any number of the other mysterious changes that mark everyday life," writes Malcolm Gladwell, "is to think of them as epidemics. Ideas and products and messages and behaviours spread just like viruses do." Although anyone familiar with the theory of mimetics will recognise this concept, Gladwell's \_The Tipping Point\_ has quite a few interesting twists on the subject. For example, Paul Revere was able to galvanise the forces of resistance so effectively in part because he was what Gladwell calls a "Connector": he knew just about everybody, particularly the revolutionary leaders in each of the towns that he rode through. But Revere "wasn't just the man with the biggest Rolodex in colonial Boston", he was also a "Maven" who gathered extensive information about the British. He knew what was going on and he knew exactly whom to tell. The phenomenon continues to this day--think of how often you've received information in an e-mail message that had been forwarded at least half a dozen times before reaching you. Gladwell develops these and other concepts (such as the "stickiness" of ideas or the effect of population size on information dispersal) through simple, clear explanations and entertainingly illustrative anecdotes, such as comparing the pedagogical methods of \_Sesame Street\_ and \_Blue's Clues\_, or explaining why it would be even easier to play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with the actor Rod Steiger. Although some readers may find the transitional passages between chapters hold their hands a little too tightly, and Gladwell's closing invocation of the possibilities of social engineering sketchy, even chilling, \_The Tipping Point\_ is one of the most effective books on science for a general audience in ages. It seems inevitable that "tipping point", like "future shock" or "chaos theory," will soon become one of those ideas that everybody knows--or at least knows by name. --\_Ron Hogan\_}, author = {Gladwell, Malcolm}, citeulike-article-id = {298559}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike09-20&path=ASIN/0349113467}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike01-21&path=ASIN/0349113467}, citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike06-21&path=ASIN/0349113467}, citeulike-linkout-3 = {http://www.amazon.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/0349113467}, citeulike-linkout-4 = {http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0349113467/citeulike00-21}, citeulike-linkout-5 = {http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike07-20&path=ASIN/0349113467}, citeulike-linkout-6 = {http://www.worldcat.org/isbn/0349113467}, citeulike-linkout-7 = {http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0349113467}, citeulike-linkout-8 = {http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?keywords=0349113467&index=books&linkCode=qs}, citeulike-linkout-9 = {http://www.librarything.com/isbn/0349113467}, day = {14}, edition = {New edition}, howpublished = {Paperback}, isbn = {0349113467}, keywords = {connectedness}, month = {February}, posted-at = {2007-11-16 05:40:30}, priority = {0}, publisher = {Abacus}, title = {The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference}, url = {http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike07-20&path=ASIN/0349113467}, year = {2002} }

TY - BOOK ID - citeulike:298559 L3 - citeulike-article-id:298559 N2 - "The best way to understand the dramatic transformation of unknown books into bestsellers, or the rise of teenage smoking, or the phenomena of word of mouth or any number of the other mysterious changes that mark everyday life," writes Malcolm Gladwell, "is to think of them as epidemics. Ideas and products and messages and behaviours spread just like viruses do." Although anyone familiar with the theory of mimetics will recognise this concept, Gladwell's _The Tipping Point_ has quite a few interesting twists on the subject. For example, Paul Revere was able to galvanise the forces of resistance so effectively in part because he was what Gladwell calls a "Connector": he knew just about everybody, particularly the revolutionary leaders in each of the towns that he rode through. But Revere "wasn't just the man with the biggest Rolodex in colonial Boston", he was also a "Maven" who gathered extensive information about the British. He knew what was going on and he knew exactly whom to tell. The phenomenon continues to this day--think of how often you've received information in an e-mail message that had been forwarded at least half a dozen times before reaching you. Gladwell develops these and other concepts (such as the "stickiness" of ideas or the effect of population size on information dispersal) through simple, clear explanations and entertainingly illustrative anecdotes, such as comparing the pedagogical methods of _Sesame Street_ and _Blue's Clues_, or explaining why it would be even easier to play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with the actor Rod Steiger. Although some readers may find the transitional passages between chapters hold their hands a little too tightly, and Gladwell's closing invocation of the possibilities of social engineering sketchy, even chilling, _The Tipping Point_ is one of the most effective books on science for a general audience in ages. It seems inevitable that "tipping point", like "future shock" or "chaos theory," will soon become one of those ideas that everybody knows--or at least knows by name. --_Ron Hogan_ SN - 0349113467 TI - The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference PB - Abacus KW - connectedness AU - Gladwell, Malcolm PY - 2002/02/14/ UR - http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike09-20&path=ASIN/0349113467 ER -