Blog Post 4

Chapter five in Maclom Gladwell's book "The tipping Point" talks about the second part of The Power of Context. I really still do not quite understand how it is a power of context, because a lot of this chapter was talking about how the power lies in being able to know other people really well. It is part of your transactive memory. That type of memory is what makes us able to know exactly how somebody we know is going to feel about something, and how different things affect him differently. This is also apparently why people get sad and depressed after breakups and divorces. Because they have lost part of their transactive memory. He also mentions that we can only take in so much to our brain at a time.

Blog Post 3

In chapters three and four of Malcom Gladwell's he talks about 1. The Stickiness Factor and 2. The first part of The Power of Context. When he talks about The Stickiness Factor he mentions that the context in the message really makes a difference. He talks about how studies show that children don't actually watch things on television when they are stimulated and look away when they are bored, but actually they watch when they understand, and look away when they are bored. I think what Malcom Gladwell was trying to point out is that this is why shows like Sesame Street, and Blues Clues were successful. Because the way things were shown and explained to children made a difference. Another example of how a little thing can make a difference. When Malcom Gladwell brings up Power of Context, it's a bit confusing. Maybe because not all parts have been revealed yet, but so far he says that it is an environmental argument. Can we make our own decisions based on our instinct, or does it depend on what is going on at that current moment. He shows as an example of an old man fallen in an alley, and talks about who would stop to help him. If students are in a rush, maybe they wouldn't, but the people who decide to act upon what they feel is right, and help would be making a difference. Not only a tipping point for yourself, but for others also.

Blog 2

For my second blog post of "The tipping point", I have read about some interesting topics that Malcom Gladwell talks about. I have read about people who are called "Mavens" and about the difference between an average salesman and a great salesman. Apparently the word "Maven" comes from Yiddish and means "one who accumulates knowledge". Malcom Gladwell explains that the mavens are the type of people who figure out how to get the job done, know things that others don't, and people who are socially very motivated. When it comes to the comparison of salesmen, Malcom Gladwell explains that the great salesmen know how to persuade people very well, will know how to answer to the objections of clients very well, and know which little things are worth mentioning, and which little things can make a difference. I think what Malcom Gladwell was trying to say is that the great salesmen are mavens. At least that is what I gathered from the reading.

The Tipping Point - First Blog

So far what I have read about, that strikes me as fascinating and interesting, is how he compared the tipping point to a sexual transmitted disease. The way Gladwell is trying to compare the two I think, is because of their similarities. Both of them start as some sort of spike and becomes a "trend". A sexual diesease being discovered, that one person has and it beginning to spread and a cool idea that one person came up with, spreading to become something many people use, wear, or have is what I have so far understood, and that makes a lot of sense to me if you think about it in that way.