The canopy high over the forest floor casts a shadow on everything beneath it.

Toward the end of Chapter Two, Gladwell uses the analogy of the overstory, which is the leafy canopy in a forest, to describe a cultural environment. While the canopy of the forest is far above the forest floor, it still casts a shadow over the floor of the forest. The cultural overstory of a given area might not be obvious, but it still influences the way people think and behave.

Monocultures are rare; the default state for most natural systems is diversity.

In the beginning of Chapter Three, Gladwell describes monocultures. Most environments, whether populations of people, classrooms, wildlife, or even governments, have some diversity. With less diversity, the closer the environment is to a monoculture, the more susceptible a group will be to an epidemic (whether social or biological).

When you are the only one of your kind, the world can’t see you as you.

In Chapter Four, Gladwell discusses how skewed group proportions cause people to act differently and to be treated differently. Using two examples of minority women who became CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, Gladwell explains that the women were not treated as people, but as stereotype-defying superhumans. They were regularly complimented for their success and intelligence, but only so their coworkers could maintain any negative stereotypes they had about women and race. The two women, according to their coworkers, were somehow the exception to the rule, distinct from other women or people of the same ethnicity.

We need to pay more attention to the songs we’re singing.

In the middle of Chapter Seven, Gladwell explains that cultures acquire shared ideas through the media they consume. One specific example is television. In the 1970s, people who watched more television were more likely to agree with one another on divisive political issues than people who watched less television. There were unifying concepts and messages. Gladwell suggests that the messages that media are creating now should be followed with closer scrutiny, due to their potential power over culture.

We miss the signs of change because we are looking for them in the wrong places.

In Chapter Eight, Gladwell discusses the ways in which people are often surprised by the success of revolutions. The revolutions may not lack for effort, but the tipping point of a revolution can come much earlier than people expect, often in an unexpected sector of the culture. While people are looking for change in the government or laws, Gladwell states that change and progress can often be found in pop culture and media (today, specifically television shows).

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