Sir, Initiate Tipping
Well, I cannot say I was exactly 'wowed' by Gladwell's writing, but I enjoyed it. His whole idea with the 80/20 though, seemed unthinkable to me. The fact that only 20 percent of the people in a epidemic do 20 percent of the work? While I find this reasonable to believe for diseases, fads are a whole different story. Maybe 70/30, but not 80/20. For those of you having no idea whatsoever I am talking about, you might want to pick up a copy of "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell.
I do have to agree with Melissa, Gladwell's writing was a bit bland, somewhat like how a matsa cracker tastes without salt, if you have any idea what I'm talking about. Then again, it is nonfiction, it is supposed to be bland, right? Ahh my friends, alas, this is not so. Contrary to popular belief, nonfiction can be wonderfully amusing, it just all depends on who writes it.
One thing that really interested me was the case concerning the babies with AIDs. I think this is completely true, I mean, so a days, we use so much antibacterial crap that germs are mutating out of control. Soon our immune systems won't be able to keep up. Personally, I think we just should let nature take its course, stop with all this 'dirt is bad for you' riffraff. God made dirt and dirt don't hurt, I say.
I never thought to compare fashion fads to medical epidemics or crime waves. I have heard that certain crimes become 'popular' over time, but I have never thought to parallel it to the fashion fad of Hush Puppies.
Not feeling well, more later tonight hopefully
Posted in: on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at at 9:21 PM
why yes you are right. I would like to clear my name. I love books and reading and it is the best thing ever. My seeming hatred for this book was not meant as an attack on the genra of non-fiction as a whole. I am sorry if I was confusing but I was not trying to knock anything. I think that a book is a book. It doesn't matter what you are reading as long as you are reading and, for the record, I liked Sex, Drugs and Coco Puffs as much as the next person.
I actually like Gladwell's paralells with health and fashion epidemics. It helps me follow the trend when I can see it through practical, medical terms.