He asserts that kids also look for awareness and predictability. They watch when they understand and look away when they are confused.” (Gladwell, p.102). He has cited examples relating to instances whereby assumptions have been related to the given data, “Kids don’t watch when they are stimulated and look away when they are bored. The author further gathers empirical data about ideas and does not just rely on making assumptions about determining quality or stickiness as referred to by him. Such qualities in him make people agree with him for whatever he says which is because of the enthusiasm, amiability, and many more qualities that he exudes. Gladwell goes on to further depict Tom Gau who is a salesman and has extraordinary qualities which are powerful and like being contagious and tempting to the extent that one can understand more than what he attempts to explain. He refers to salesmen as a group that have the skills to persuade people when they are not convinced about what they hear. “The fact that Mavens want to help, for no other reason than because they like to help, turns out to be an effective way of getting someone’s attention.” (Gladwell, p.67). The author writes that the word Maven is derived from Yiddish which refers to people who accumulate knowledge. They can be present in different worlds and can take advantage of benefits from them. Connectors’ ability “to span many different worlds is a function of something intrinsic to their personality, some combination of curiosity, self-confidence, sociability, and energy.” (Gladwell, p.49). He refers to connectors as “sprinkled among every walk of life… are a handful of people with a truly extraordinary knack of making friends and acquaintances (Gladwell, p. Gladwell has divided such gifted people into three sections, the connectors, mavens, and the salespersons.

He also writes that “the success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts.” (Gladwell, p.33). He makes a point in saying that a small number of minor changes in single or several different contexts can result in dramatic changes in society that can influence people in sweeping ways and in epidemic proportions, which is evident when he says “in a given process or system some people matter more than others.” (Gladwell, p.19).

These are the context, (which pertains to the current circumstances), the ideas, and the concerned people.

The main focus of the book lies in the fact that three factors can result in bringing about remarkable and unexpected changes within society. Gladwell’s main thesis pertains to the trends in society being understood in the same manner as researchers understand the spreading of viruses and to the fact that a surprisingly large variety of social phenomena can be addressed by using the metaphor about such fads.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell