But if there is difficulty and volatility in the world of the Tipping Point, there is a large measure of hopefulness as well. Merely by manipulating the size of a group, we can dramatically improve its receptivity to new ideas. By tinkering with the presentation of information, we can significantly improve its stickiness. Simply by finding and reaching those few special people who hold so much social power, we can shape the course of social epidemics. In the end, Tipping Points are a reaffirmation of the potential for change and the power of intelligent action. Look at the world around you. It may seem like an immovable, implacable place. It is not. With the slightest push — in just the right place — it can be tipped.

Acknowledgments

The Tipping Point grew out of an article I wrote as a freelancer for Tina Brown at the New Yorker, who ran the piece and then — to my surprise and delight — hired me. Thank you, Tina. She and her successor, David Remnick, graciously allowed me to spend many months away from the magazine to work on this book. The earliest draft of my manuscript was brilliantly critiqued by Terry Martin, now of Harvard University and formerly of our hometown of Klmira, who has been a source of intellectual inspiration to me since tenth-grade biology. I also owe special thanks to the extraordinary contributions of Judith Rich Harris, author of The Nurture Assumption, which changed the way I thought about the world, and my mother, Joyce Gladwell, who is and always will be my favorite writer. Judith Shulevit, Robert McCrum, Zoe Rosenfeld, Jacob Weisberg, and Deborah Needleman took the time to read my manuscript and share their thoughts. DeeDee Gordon (and Sage) and Sally Horchow graciously lent me their homes for the long weeks of writing. I hope someday to return the favor. At Little, Brown, I had the pleasure of working with a team of talented and dedicated and wonderful professionals: Katie Long, Betty Power, Ryan I Lirhage, Sarah Crichton, and, most of all, my editor, Bill Phillips. Bill read this book so many times he can probably recite it by memory, and every time he read it his insight and intelligence made it a better book. Thank you. Two people, finally have my deepest gratitude. First my agent and friend Tina Bennett, who conceived of this project and saw it through — protecting, guiding, helping, and inspiring me every step of the way. And second, my editor at the New Yorker, the incomparable Henry Finder, to whom I owe more than I can say. Thank you all.