Thoughts About “Revenge of The Tipping Point”

Author Malcolm Gladwell’s Revenge of the Tipping Point examines viral phenomena. Within it, he introduces the concept of the “superspreader.”

He posits that “superspreaders” can create viral events. Superspreaders possess unique characteristics that make them capable of creating a viral effect. One aspect of this concept is that even one individual is needed to ignite a viral event.

From Theory to Reality

Gladwell takes this theory in two directions. He forensically analyzes superspreaders. He also examines how superspreaders can be cultivated or manufactured.

Gladwell’s applies his theory to an early COVID-19 outbreak. He examined to see if a superspreader was present at a particular event.

In his investigation, he posits that certain COVID-19 infected individuals were disease superspreaders. These individuals possessed physiological characteristics which made their bodies able to pump out more contagious virus than other people. Their bodies emitted virus in vaporized form that was far more contagious than others. The shocking analysis result was that these individuals’ dehydration may have been instrumental to their superspreading. A glass of water to slow the spread?

The other superspreader incident analyzed was a manufactured one. Gladwell described a drug company’s marketing approach that recruited superspreaders to achieve sales goals.

Note: this marketing approach is not something not so novel. The 80/20 rule has been well known in business. It has long been appreciated that 20 percent of your clients generate 80 percent of your business.

The Takeaway

This superspreader phenomena has shaped many things and world events. Whether intentionally or not, religions and political movements have superspreader moments attached to them. As a result, positions and attitudes can change with viral like fashion.

Like most things, the superspreader is merely a tool. It can easily promote the good as well as the bad.

Thus, it is imperative that people not only understand this phenomena but also learn how it can be deterred. In the case of the pharmaceutical company, the drug was OxyContin which created an addiction epidemic. In my practice, I witnessed many individuals confront addiction problems arising from that particular line of drugs. In essence, people must be prepared to confront harm packaged in a viral form.

Be well!!

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