The Tipping Point

"Coca-Cola pad $35 million for the rights to sponsor the 1992 Olympics, but despite a huge advertising push, only about 12% of TV viewers realized that they were the official soft drink and another 5% thought that Pepsi was the real sponsor."

The reason I bring this up is an explanation isn't given for what would be considered a good run-rate for TV viewers and much of the book espouses small changes leading to big results. Is this a choose your own adventure going on here? Or a making facts seem to mean what you want them to mean? The Home Depot meanwhile explains that becoming Olympic sponsors was one of the best marketing decisions the company ever made. Both companies are based in Atlanta - why include one fact but not the other?

Let me first explain that I did enjoy the book but I've learned to take Gladwell's writing with a huge grain of salt. The Tipping Point is basically about how epidemics reach a "tipping point" and then "burst" as if they were a bubble or something. Like the tulip bub bubble or the dot com bubble. Except "the tipping point" is a fresh idea that could be pitched to book publishes. A great story and a best seller waiting to happen.

Also read his book The Bomber Mafia and though I also found that enjoyable and thought it had some good history but couldn't dismiss the fact that Gladwell couldn't hide his bias and a person unfamiliar with the facts could be swayed into the wrong impression about Cutis LeMay and the bombing of Japan. 

Gladwell has the habit of cherry picking his facts to match the premise of his books. Know that going in and enjoy the ride. 

"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact; everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." - Marcus Aurelius

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks.

More Linky Links

More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Damning new evidence emerges in Biden autopen scandal.

- Jonathan Turley: The bill for kowtowing to the Chicago teachers' union comes due. Unfunded mandates are the scariest two words any municipality can have.

- Douglas Murray: Malcolm Gladwell admits he's a liar. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

- Gratitude, Perspective, and Inspiration.

Life Advice

Via

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- VDH: Democrats No More. "So what happened to turn the party of Harry Truman, JFK, and even Bill Clinton into a woke neo-Marxist movement?" Good question.

- Matt Taibbi: The overlooked factors in police abuse cases. Article is as much a criticism of Malcom Gladwell as the police but good writing nonetheless. Liked this quip about Gladwell, "an intellectual drive-thru quality to his approach." 

- I support Eric Clapton's position. However, I feel that Dave Chappelle's is more practical. Chappelle has his audience tested (takes 15 minutes) prior to entrance into the arena with a negative test required for entry (he also takes away your cell phone but that's a separate topic).

- Matt Taibbi: The trillion-dollar lie. Two from Taibbi this morning but student loans is another area in desperate need of reform.

More Linky Links

More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Glenn Reynolds on how to fix voting in the US. Agree 100%.

- Excellent book review of Malcolm Gladwell's The Bomber Mafia. The review provides the history, background and details that gives flesh to the misgivings I had when reading the book.

- Holy crap - I bet this works!  (Via)

- This made me laugh

The Bomber Mafia

The Bomber Mafia was an enjoyable quick read by Malcolm Gladwell - the name of the book implies the story was about the American military men who advocated long-range heavy bombers as the future of warfare. The book did go through the history of the "bomber mafia" (which started off as a derogatory term but was embraced by the airmen) but the real story the book tells is of the fire bombing of Tokyo in World War II and the events that led to it.  

The book parallels the careers of General Haywood S. Hansell and General Curtis LeMay. Hansell is admired by Gladwell while LeMay clearly is not. Gladwell tries to remain objective but cannot hide his disdain of the death and destruction that rained down on the population centers of Japan under LeMay. The fire-bombing of Tokyo and the estimated 100,000 deaths that resulted clearly bothers him. 

Sorry Malcolm but war is hell.

I kept thinking about how amusing a debate between Gladwell and Victor Davis Hanson (who is very pro Curtis LeMay) on the subject would be.

I enjoyed the read but doubt if I'd pick the book up again to re-read.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Bane wants you to wear a mask

- Comcast lost 477,000 cable TV customers in Q2 amid 12% drop in revenue.

- Malcolm Gladwell: How I rediscovered faith

- Read a book

- Sadly probably true

My Expertise

Very interesting infographic regarding Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule to become an expert.

When I think about it for a minute I would say that I'm already an expert (way past 10,000 hours) in IPTV, watching the Boston Red Sox and watching college and pro football. I know I can earn a living based upon my IPTV knowledge but what about my insight into the Red Sox? That would be a harder trick. And my football expertise? There are probably a million guys my age who could make the same claim. Of these how many are able to turn that experience into something the increases their bank account bottom line (and don't mention people who bet on football because that's a net loser).

In addition I'm probably pretty close to being an expert on both drinking beer and blogging if you are using the 10,000 hour rule. All that time drinking beer has probably made me closer to a liver transplant patient than being an expert but what about blogging? I know the practice of putting down my thoughts  has helped with my professional writing ability but it really hasn't put any money into my pockets.

What are you expert at if you use the 10,000 hour rule? Have you been able to use that expertise to earn a living? Or are you an expert hobbyist?

Malcolm Gladwell - The Nets and NBA Economics

Malcolm Gladwell had what was a very interesting look at the history behind the Nets move to Brooklyn - a move which Gladwell explains was in essence was a real estate land grab.

Gladwell had me until he brought up marginal tax rates late in the article. Gladwell writes, "Up until the 1960's, the gap between rich and poor in the United States was relatively narrow." I'd argue that Gladwell must not have ever been to Newport, RI or studied the Gilded Age in any history classes he ever took.

He continued, "In fact, in that era [the 1960's] marginal tax rates in the highest bracket were in excess of 90 percent. For every dollar you made above $250,000, you gave the government 90 cents." As you can see from this chart the top rate was 91% in 1960 but by 1970 that top rate was reduced to 71.75%. I hate to nitpick but when the facts start to be squishy like this it makes me start to question the other facts presented.

"Today - with good reason - we regard tax rates that high as punitive and economically self defeating." Well duh!

"It is worth noting, though, that in the social and political commentary of the 1950s and 1960s there is scant evidence of wealthy people complaining about their situation. They paid their taxes and went about their business." The wealthy people didn't complain about their situation? So I guess that top rate just magically reduced itself from 91% in 1960 to 71.75% in 1970 without nary a rich guy making a single complaint to legislators or lobbyists. How can a smart guy like Gladwell be this historically naive?

"The rich have gone from being grateful for what they have to pushing for everything they can get." Sounds like Gladwell longs for the days of John Rockerfeller who got his start war profiteering in the Civil War before systematically crushing all competition to his Standard Oil or maybe pushovers like JP Morgan. The article went from interesting to naive to silly in just one big paragraph of historical ignorance.

Which was too bad because it really did start off as an interesting article on the Nets move to Brooklyn.