Tipping point
From Wikinfo
The tipping point defined by The Word Spy as used in epidemiology, is the "concept that small changes will have little or no effect on a system until a critical mass is reached. Then a further small change "tips" the system and a large effect is observed." [1]. Epidemics are network phenomena. The network concept of nodes applies to those agents that spread a disease through their extensive contacts with other nodes.
The article in Word Spy cites a passage from the popular book, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. This book which was a nonfiction bestseller in America calls itself the biography of an idea", introduction, page 7. Three rules of epidemics are cited: the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, the Power of Context, page 29.
The Law of the Few is the fact that certain nodes in a network have many more links to other nodes, connectors, or are significantly more effective in acquiring information, mavens, or in convincing others, salesmen, page 31. The Stickiness Factor is the degree information presented, as for example, in an advertisement, is noted by its intended recipient, pages 89 to 132. The Power of Context is that any event happens in a context, the ambient envirionment surrounding it. Whether an event occurs and how it occurs is dependent on the context. For example, in the nonfiction bestseller, The Tipping Point the first chapter on "The Power of Context" discuss how much what people do and how they react to events in dependent on context. In the examples given there it is hypothesized that in New York City in the 1980s and 1990s criime was significantly reduced and the general athmosphere of the city changed for the better by changing the ambience by refurbishing the subway system and cracking down on minor quality of life offenses, see Broken Windows theory, pages 133-168. The second chapter, pages 169-192, on the Power of Context discusses the effect of the size of a group and the limits built into human nature, hypothesizing that the effects of a group of 150 people or less are radically different from a larger group. Apparently about 150 people is the upper limit to the size of group that can maintain relationships with one another, to "know" one another.
Further Reading
- Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference", Back Bay Books, Little, Brown & Company, 2002, trade paperback, 304 pages, ISBN 0316346624
