Asymptomatic

There must be intelligent life down here

Tipping Point, 4th of July, MI:3

Over the past week, I’ve watched, read, or listened to all of these, and I thought I would give you my quick impression of all three.

Tipping Point is a book by author Malcom Gladwell that outlines the properties of epidemics. It presents the author’s ideas of what is required to make an idea, product, or fad “tip” from obscurity into the mainstream.

The theories seem well-thought, and the examples make for very interesting reading. The section on stickiness has me looking more into the Blue’s Clues kids show, which apparently puts a ton of effort into making the information it present stick in children’s minds. The sections on crime as a factor of an environment’s appearance and on why teens smoke are both very interesting.

The concepts in the book fail to pass the Berta test, though. In this test, I retell the theories to Berta, and they either make sense or sound fishy. She was skeptical. Plus, the book offers no direct practical advice for making something tip, which is probably why most people bought the blasted thing.