Tipping Point Chapter 2

In Chapter 2 of The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell talks about the three types of people who are responsible for helping to start social epidemics. These three types of people are: connectors, mavens, and salesmen. I thought the most interesting part of his argument dealt with Paul Revere and William Dawes. Most everyone in this country knows who Paul Revere was but I bet hardly anyone, including me, has ever heard of William Dawes. Although Paul Revere and William Dawes had the same intention--to warn people about the British soldiers' plans--Paul Revere made history and William Dawes did not. It turns out that Paul Revere made history because his message spread more readily and progressively than Dawes's did because Paul Revere was a connecter--a social butterfly who knew who to tell the information to. Gladwell writes, "And Dawes was in all likelihood a man with a normal social circle . . ." (58) I like history and I thought it was interesting that there is another side to Paul Revere's story that no one knows about simply because William Dawes did not have the right social skills to start an epidemic. Gladwell refers to David Hackett Fischer's book, Paul Revere's Ride, as part of his research. He uses evidence from this book to show that Dawes's message did not spread very well.