The same kind of growth is also seen in the spread of technological innovations. Represented in graphic terms, the growth would be a curve that is slightly inclined at first, and then juts up at almost a right angle. Take a flu strain, for example it might spread through a population slowly at the start, but, day by day, it infects more and more people until finally it reaches that magical moment when the transmission rate soars dramatically and the epidemic spins out of control. The Tipping Point is the moment at which a trend turns into an epidemic and spreads like wildfire.

In addition, both will eventually reach a T ipping Point: the point at which the critical mass has been reached and the spread can no longer be stopped. Social epidemics share several of the same recurring characteristics as viral infections.įor example, subtle external changes can often strongly affect the transmissibility of a social infection, just as viral infections can spread more easily in the wintertime when most people’s immune systems are weaker. It all started when a couple of hipsters in Manhattan started wearing the shoes, which “infected” others with the idea and set off a trend. The company itself had nothing to do with the epidemic. Within just one year, sales figures jumped from 30,000 to 430,000 pairs the next year, around two million pairs of Hush Puppies were sold. Take the suede shoes made by Hush Puppies, which remained mere shelf-warmers until the mid‑1990s when suddenly they became a must‑have. The spread of ideas, products and behaviors can be compared to the spread of a viral infection: for years, only a few people are affected (or infected), but then, within a short period of time, it becomes an epidemic.

The tipping point chapters