The+Impact+of+Tipping+Point

Popularity:
Amazon.com, //The Onion A.V. Club//, //The Guardian//, and //The Times// have named __The Tipping Point__ as one of the best books of the decade. It was also Barnes and Noble's 5th best selling nonfiction book of the decade. Many respectable magazines such as //Fortune// and //The Daily Telegraph// have given The Tipping Point raving reviews.

Thinking About Life As an Epidemic:
One major impact of reading the __The Tipping Point__ is that the reader will often find themselves looking at life with a slightly different perspective. Epidemics occur or are caused in an often counter-intuitive way: they can start and grow very quickly but die out just as fast, and are caused by often small seemingly unimportant things. According to Gladwell, the majority of changes in life also occur this way. Things can occur very quickly, and small changes can have a huge impact. __The Tipping Point__ helps to explain how in life, many times causes are not proportional to their effect. Once the pattern of cause and effect in epidemics is realized, people will frequently see them in real life situation. According to Gladwell, ideas and messages can spread exactly the same way that real viruses such as the flu do.



Purpose:
The purpose and ultimate impact of __The Tipping Point__ is to help teach readers how to start positive epidemics of their own and to understand the reasons why and how epidemics occur. Because epidemics are often started by little input and can spread very quickly, it is not unrealistic for average people to start ones of their own. This allows __The Tipping Point__ to serve as a tool and guide of anyone interesting in spreading ideas, products, or messages, this can range from teachers to businessmen to politicians. According to Gladwell, "The point is that by the end of the book I think the reader will have a clear idea of what starting an epidemic actually takes. This is not an abstract, academic book. It's very practical." The Tipping Point helps readers to decode the world around them and understand why certain changes happen and how their causes may not be proportional to their effects.

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