The Tipping Point Summer Assignment
1. In chapter 1, Gladwell describes the "three rules of epidemics." Show which of these ideas most affects your education.
The three rules of epidemics present different aspects of trends and how they are started, but the one that most affects my education most would be the power of context. People are more sensitive and finely attuned to their environment, making them more susceptible to changes around them. In regards to my education, it is important for me to stay flexible with my ideas and beliefs. It is astounding how easily my ideas can change with new information or perceptions. For example, doing my summer homework seemed like a daunting task; however, once I got started it became clear that it was not as difficult as I thought. It is a real life example of the power of context, where the newly gained information of doing the summer homework was powerful enough to overthrow my predisposed thoughts. 2. Chapter 2 explains the "law of the few." Explain which one best describes you and how you know. In the law of the few, the one that best depicts my personality would be the maven, mostly because I love sharing new ideas and telling people about the things I discover. …show more content…
I adore learning new things and sharing the knowledge with others. For example, I enjoy learning and being around cats, so naturally, I know an abundance of things about them. I enjoy sharing any information I know or recently acquire to my peers and to my family. The information I may share includes cat care, cat breeds, and cat behavior. I am obsessed with cats, just as some mavens are, “...obsessed with how to get the best deal on a can of coffee” (Gladwell-62). 3. How does the idea of "the stickiness factor" help you in the advanced courses you are taking? The second law, the stickiness factor, allows information to become memorable, or “sticky”, because of repetition and simple connections between pieces of information. This makes it so the material is easily remembered and more likely to be retained. By repeating something six times, it is more likely to be remembered. One example is the Wunderman ‘gold box” anecdote. It shows how a seemingly simplistic and cheesy gimmick can lodge in people's minds and make it more memorable. This gold box idea was widely popular and successful because it made TV viewers and magazine readers more likely to remember the Columbia Records itself. This helps a lot in the advanced classes I’m taking because it allows me to be able to remember the things I learn easier and faster through repetition and making it more likely that I will remember it in the future. 4. What role does "context," as described in chapter 4, play in student success. How does this affect you? What other lessons can be learned about your education from chapter 4? The role of context depicts how the environment shapes people's perception and thoughts. …show more content…
While someone may be considered a “hero” at one point of time, the environment could change and make it seem as they are no more than a racist murder. The third rule of social epidemics is environmental in nature: while specific people and products can cause major trends, no trend can “flourish” without the right context. This role of context allows students to perceive information differently depending on their environment. In some, they would flourish and be able to retain information easily, like they would in a quiet space. In others, though, they could do the complete opposite; not focusing, and not completing their work because of their environment they are in, like at school or in public. Small environmental details can have major effects on public behavior. Just changing something little can have a massive impact on others. This affects me because just by making a small change in my life can actually impact it more so than I thought before. For example, by just saying hello and talking to someone while passing by on a street, it could make their whole day and even save their life. 5. According to Gladwell, why is the number 150 so important? What possible implications could this rule have for your education? How else could the "rule of 150" affect your life? The size of a group can play a huge role in social epidemics. For example, a comedy playing in a huge
1. In chapter 1, Gladwell describes the "three rules of epidemics." Show which of these ideas most affects your education.
The three rules of epidemics present different aspects of trends and how they are started, but the one that most affects my education most would be the power of context. People are more sensitive and finely attuned to their environment, making them more susceptible to changes around them. In regards to my education, it is important for me to stay flexible with my ideas and beliefs. It is astounding how easily my ideas can change with new information or perceptions. For example, doing my summer homework seemed like a daunting task; however, once I got started it became clear that it was not as difficult as I thought. It is a real life example of the power of context, where the newly gained information of doing the summer homework was powerful enough to overthrow my predisposed thoughts. 2. Chapter 2 explains the "law of the few." Explain which one best describes you and how you know. In the law of the few, the one that best depicts my personality would be the maven, mostly because I love sharing new ideas and telling people about the things I discover. …show more content…
I adore learning new things and sharing the knowledge with others. For example, I enjoy learning and being around cats, so naturally, I know an abundance of things about them. I enjoy sharing any information I know or recently acquire to my peers and to my family. The information I may share includes cat care, cat breeds, and cat behavior. I am obsessed with cats, just as some mavens are, “...obsessed with how to get the best deal on a can of coffee” (Gladwell-62). 3. How does the idea of "the stickiness factor" help you in the advanced courses you are taking? The second law, the stickiness factor, allows information to become memorable, or “sticky”, because of repetition and simple connections between pieces of information. This makes it so the material is easily remembered and more likely to be retained. By repeating something six times, it is more likely to be remembered. One example is the Wunderman ‘gold box” anecdote. It shows how a seemingly simplistic and cheesy gimmick can lodge in people's minds and make it more memorable. This gold box idea was widely popular and successful because it made TV viewers and magazine readers more likely to remember the Columbia Records itself. This helps a lot in the advanced classes I’m taking because it allows me to be able to remember the things I learn easier and faster through repetition and making it more likely that I will remember it in the future. 4. What role does "context," as described in chapter 4, play in student success. How does this affect you? What other lessons can be learned about your education from chapter 4? The role of context depicts how the environment shapes people's perception and thoughts. …show more content…
While someone may be considered a “hero” at one point of time, the environment could change and make it seem as they are no more than a racist murder. The third rule of social epidemics is environmental in nature: while specific people and products can cause major trends, no trend can “flourish” without the right context. This role of context allows students to perceive information differently depending on their environment. In some, they would flourish and be able to retain information easily, like they would in a quiet space. In others, though, they could do the complete opposite; not focusing, and not completing their work because of their environment they are in, like at school or in public. Small environmental details can have major effects on public behavior. Just changing something little can have a massive impact on others. This affects me because just by making a small change in my life can actually impact it more so than I thought before. For example, by just saying hello and talking to someone while passing by on a street, it could make their whole day and even save their life. 5. According to Gladwell, why is the number 150 so important? What possible implications could this rule have for your education? How else could the "rule of 150" affect your life? The size of a group can play a huge role in social epidemics. For example, a comedy playing in a huge