Introduction Summary and Analysis

In The Tipping Point, Gladwell follows trends from their inception to their end and tries to discover why some ideas "tip" and others do not. First, Gladwell gives the three rules for the tipping point: contagiousness; the fact that little causes can have big effects; and change happens in one moment.

The author begins with a recent fashion trend that seemed to come from nowhere. Hush Puppies shoes fell in popularity to the point that the parent company decided to cancel the brand. However, when they began to appear in New York City nightclubs, designers began to sell them once again. Thus, the brand enjoyed a new birth of success. This example illustrates the three rules of epidemics: contagiousness, little cause equals big effect and change occurs in one dramatic moment.

Yawning serves as an everyday example of an epidemic, though...