As surfactant specialists, we all know that a few surfactant molecules can make a big difference. Besides making a big difference between clean and dirty (soap), these unique molecules are capable of amazing feats, as we have seen and heard at the recent Annual Meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco. The contents of that meeting were previewed here.
Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point” with the sub-title: “How Little Things Can make a Big Difference” reminded us of all that when reading the book. You might enjoy reading it too. New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell looks at why major changes in our society often happen suddenly and unexpectedly. Ideas, behavior, messages and products often spread like outbreaks of infectious disease, like surfactant molecules on the surface of a pond. One satisfied customer can cause a social epidemic that could fill the empty tables of a new restaurant. This customer has to be a Connector, as defined in Chapter Two of the book. Connectors are natural pollinators of new ideas and trends. When these ideas and trends reach critical mass, a major change occurs. The Tipping Point was reached. For example: Do you remember when this happened to the Internet? We do. It was at the time that the Surfactants Virtual Library was created.
Who would have thought that cleaning graffiti from the subway cars (with surfactants of course), effectively stopped a crime wave in New York City? This was another social epidemic that reached a Tipping Point.
In that Chapter Two, entitled “The Law of the Few: Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen", there are two other types that matter in a social epidemic. Paul Revere was a Connector, but he was also a Maven. As Malcolm Gladwell explains, the word Maven is Yiddish for a person who accumulates knowledge. We must be Mavens too, and this is exactly what we are doing in the Surfactants Virtual Library. In recent years, economists have spent a great deal of time studying Mavens, for the obvious reason that if marketplaces depend on information, then the people with the most information must be the most important.
What would be the next Tipping Point in surface science? Surface Scientists are exceptional people. History has proven that they can come up with remarkable products and processes, such as water based coatings that significantly reduce air pollution. More details can be found in a recent paper on Green Chemistry from the MIT Chemical Engineering Department. Join the movers and the shakers and let us know what you think! I am looking forward to your E-mail.
PS: If you want to find out how society works and how we can make it better, have a look at Malcolm Gladwell’s book. You can find it via the Barnes and Noble Bookstore Link on this website (Malcolm Gladwell - The Tipping Point).