I’ve seen a tipping point
I mentioned tipping points in my last post. I’ve just seen my first really obvious tipping point happen.
Now I don’t have Malcolm Gladwell’s book at the moment (if you borrowed it, please let me know), but from memory, one type of tipping point is the point at which a product is all of a sudden everywhere.
This is a strange one, but I’ve just witnessed a plastic bag to purchased bag tipping point. In the last fortnight I’ve noticed that everyone is carrying around lime green bags containing their shopping rather than plastic bags. I’d think a couple of things happened to tip it:
- the supermarkets have walls of lime green bags, embedding them in our consciousness
- the bags are inexpensive
- other people are brave enough to buy them and walk around the shopping centre with them
I’d guess that this last point is the most important one in causing a tip. People need to see that ‘everyone else’ is doing it and have the ability to do it themselves and boom - off it goes…
July 2nd, 2004 at 9:44 pm
“People need to see that ‘everyone else’ is doing it and have the ability to do it themselves and boom - off it goes…”
Either that, or you start to notice it and self-suggest that it wasn’t as prevalent as before you noticed (which, of course, it would not have been to your sub-concious since by defintion you have not been aware of it before).
Just playing devil’s advocate
The power of self-suggesion is quite strong. Try this:
Tap the table with a finger of your right hand once (bip!).
Tap the same table in roughly the same place with a finger of your left hand once (bip!).
Which “bip” was the higher note? Remember which finger produces it. Run a few tests to make sure.
Now, tell yourself to expect a lower note from the finger that is producing the higher note, then tap the table in exactly the same way as you tapped it before.
It will deliver a lower note.
Try that on the other finger. Play self-suggestion on yourself and others - it’s fun!
Malcolm Gladwell’s book is also fun, but it’s worthless because it sheds no light on WHY the tipping points happen. A nice set of stories though. File along with Snow White and Little House on the Prarie.
February 20th, 2005 at 8:50 am
How did you get to notice the plastic bags? I know. One word: plasticbag.org