In 2000, Malcolm Gladwell published «Tipping Point» the first in a series of insightful books. And defined it as « the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point ».
I bet that the recent sequence of events could provide enough material for a sequel. And I am not referring to the link between tipping point and epidemiology which is quite documented. Let’s consider two recent « moments ».
The Minneapolis tragedy first. George Floyd is unfortunately not the first black man to die victim of police violence. But something special happened and it has become a tipping point liberating an anger not seen in decades.
Then the authorities reaction to Covid. Could Lombardia’s lockdown be considered the tipping point that led to the confinement of more than half of the world’s population? Would it have happened anyway?
Emotion and peer pressure - countries and individuals - in an era of 24-hours news channels, iPhones and social networks are updating tipping point conditions. Like a social Boyle’s law. Gas, temperature and pressure. With speed, scale and noise.
Could we use this positively? Could we knowingly design « tipping points 2.0 » to change our course? COP 21 revisited. No free riders. But emulation at scale. I have a dream!
