The Revenge of the Tipping Point

 Malcolm Gladwell is unique.  He finds connections that escape the rest of us.  The truth is that existence is full of connections that we take for granted, ignore or most often don't know.  

 In the year 2000 he wrote "The Tipping Point" which rocketed him to fame.  A few other books got my attention. "The Revenge of the Tipping Point" elaborates further on how things work.

Tipping point is the point where some idea barely noticed rapidly gains popularity.  He helps us better understand the process

Epidemics love monocultures, that is cultures with few or any variations.  One example was cheetahs who eventually were almost reduced to only one female meaning that each subsequent generation had the same set of genes.  This resulted in extreme difficulties for breeding.   In their efforts to breed cheetahs they brought them into close contact with one another and somehow one caught a fatal disease common only with domestic cats.  It created a deadly epidemic spurred on by the common gene pool. 

 Another example was provided by a high school district that was noted for high marks and stellar achievements.  The students  were clean cut and studious, but through freaky events one student committed suicide.  It wasn't too long before suicides became a regular ocurence.  

The concept of super spreaders was displayed with Covid epidemic.  Coughing and sneezing were considered  prime causes, but delving into it further and learned that merely talking could spread it.  Furthermore they learned that rare humans could be what might be called super spreaders.  

The Holocaust provided a surprising example of an initially slow moving trend that reached epidemic proportions.  The survivors of the Holocaust were embarrassed and wanted to forget it.  A group of 3 living in Los Angeles wanted to forget their time in concentration camps and decided to put their mementos into a museum., known as the "Martyrs Memorial Museum".  It turned out to be more popular than anticipated, but it was another twenty two years before anyone else was willing to open a similar museum.   In 1984 four museums opened and afterwards a series of what were now known as Holocaust Museums opened.   Gladwell identifies two tv executives who decided it was time to present a mini series on the Holocaust.  Prior to that there had been a few references in historical literature.  The idea became acceptable, even urgent for some people.

Gay marriage is an example of how quickly a tipping point can be reached when the Overstory changes.  Gladwell credits television with softening up general attitudes.  Although there were references to gay character they were generally off to the side.  Will & Grace won over a good segment of the population.  Once the overstory was changed legislators found it much easier to make for more tolerant laws and authorize gay marriage.  It all happened in about a ten year period.

Harvard athletic scholarships  According to Gladwell, universities were aware of a tipping point and had decided they wanted to avoid minorities reaching it.  The net result is that athletes with lower academic credentials are favored over minorities who also have lower academic credentials.  

The opioids crisis is at the beginning and then apparently not mentioned until near the end.  But actually some of the forces that helped bring about the crisis are explored in a seemingly random way.  It all makes sense in the end.

Many of Gladwell's conclusions are reached by taking thought from different scientific studies.  The problem is that scientists are so specialized and are often unaware of relevant other specialties.  We might think of Gladwell as a generalist.  He does look at problems and approaches them from a wider perspective.  Specialists are definitely important, but the world needs intelligent generalists as much.

You have to read the book to really appreciate his method of connecting different topics to make a point stronger.

A previous blog  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/01/talking-to-strangers.html

The Tattoist of Auschwitz

 The Holocaust is not believed by some, and overlooked by many.  We will never know the full story, but stories of survival give some hope.  The author, a non Jew living in Australia was sought out by one survivor who had a story to tell.  It is of love overcoming one of mankind's greatest horror stories.

Perhaps embellished a bit, but insightful the subject of story was concerned about being perceived as a collaborator.  He survived because he could speak several languages; Slovakian, German, Russian, Polish, Hungarian that makes him useful and gives him some leverage.  Lale was careful in what he said, but pushed limits.  It could have been told as a true story, but sometimes fiction allows the author to paint a truer picture.  Heather does provide some photos and some facts.

The story was originally written as a film script and I hope they are able to come up with something that would get wider distribution than a book.   Apparently something is at the development stage and hopefully will work its way through the Covid 19 pandemic.

The story begins when Lale is given a chance to be the tattooist who is given a key task that allows him not only to survive, but also to gain some leverage.  The Germans are noted for their efficiency and they do indeed keep track of their prisoners.  At one point there is a problem with duplicate numbers and Lale is able to determine that part of one number has been distorted as for instance an 8 turned to a 3.  For some reason he is impressed with Gita when it is her turn to be tattooed and is able to make contact with her later on.  It is only at the end of the imprisonment that she tells him her last name which is one clue to finding her.  

Freedom in a concentration camp is extremely curtailed, but in reality many of the inmates had carved out some small amount of freedom.  Anything of value was confiscated by the authorities, but sometimes they were careless and allowed some small bits of jewelry or foreign currencies to be found by the inmates who used such items for favors among themselves, some outsiders or even (including the protagonist) to the prison staff.  Favors could include getting extra food, some medicine or even privacy.

 A poignant moment was when Lale asks Gita if he could kiss her.  She expresses surprise, asks why would you want to, my teeth are rotten.  He replies that so are his.  Such intimacies were rare, but not to be denied.

As the tattooist Lale is perceived to be a collaborator and traitor.  He sees it as a chance not only to survive but to lessen the burden for others.  Lale uses his influence to lessen the burden of others, but becomes hardened to the realities for the thousands and thousands he gives their numbers to.

There is a soccer game concocted for the amusement of the prison staff who are pretty confident they can prove their racial superiority.  Lale was able to help recruit semi professional players among the Jewish inmates.   They started off with goals, but self protection and poor condition allowed the guards to win.   Similar stories of the disadvantaged somehow winning might be true, but in Auschwitz not only was it dangerous to provoke those with literally life and death authority, but also the players had been starving.

As guards realize Russians are at hand confusion stirs and the German staff become ambivalent, realizing they are guilty and concerned about their own survival.  Others feel they must expedite killing more Jews The two characters are separated and seek to survive amongst chaos.  They do contact and marry and eventually end up in Australia where they had one son who contributed an epilogue for the book.

The Holocaust is one of the most real horror stories of the century, but it is also contains a testiment to the resilience of mankind.   We should never forget the horror and what lead up to it, but cherish the love that survived.