‘How little things can make a big difference’: that’s what this book is all about. Malcolm Gladwell, although irritatingly smug and sure of himself, is a man with the answers to questions we never thought to ask but to which we would quite like to hear the answers. Why were hush puppies so huge in the nineties? Why have we never heard of a band one minute and the next minute they’re everywhere?

The answers surround Gladwell’s sociological argument that seemingly irrelevant or inconsequential events can have major unforseen impacts on the world in which we live. An example: when the graffiti was removed from New York subway cars the crime rate plummeted. It’s the broken window theory, the theory implying that in a neighborhood where there are lots of broken windows, crime and vandalism rates will be higher. I mean, what’s one more?

The tipping point, if you were wondering, describes the moment where a social epidemic becomes unstoppable. Hush puppies, tamagotchies, yoyos: these trends spread like wildfire and at one point there’s no going back.

Although the book is a pretty easy read, Gladwell does tend to repeat himself and at times the writing can feel like the unqualified musings of an old fart. The arguments aren’t always backed up, Gladwell is too arrogant to care. The book makes for pretty interesting small talk though. Read it and never be lost for conversation again.

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