Analysis Of The Tipping Point By Malcolm Gladwell

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell is based on the theory that at a certain point, a series of small events become significant enough to make a bigger change. In the book, Gladwell talks about the impact of this theory throughout the world, from social changes to television networks. Three variables that play a role in determining whether a trend will “tip” are know as the “rules of epidemics.”

One rule is the Law of the Few, this is based on three key groups of people that are essential to “tipping.” These three groups of people are the connectors, the mavens and the salesmen. The second rule is the Stickiness Factor, which means how effective an idea stays in the viewer's mind. The last rule is the Power of Context, this relates to how strong a certain situation has on us emotionally. After describing the three key variables, Gladwell gives examples of each rule through different cases.

To start with, when I was younger I watched Sesame Street and still find myself relating back to it, to this day. I’ve never heard stories about the creation of Sesame Street, so when I read about it, I was shocked. Sesame Street was created to give children from disadvantaged homes a leg up once they began elementary school. Joan Cooney, a television producer, wanted to create a learning outbreak to counter the current epidemics of poverty and illiteracy (89). Channel capacity is the amount of space in our brain for certain kinds of information. Before reading The Tipping Point, I had no knowledge about channel capacity. Three different number that are examples of channel capacity are 7, 12 and 150. The number seven is the maximum capacity I can reach when dividing something into different categories