This novel written by Malcolm Gladwell is primarily a book about change. Gladwell relates human beings and things that occur in and around a humans" life to a common children's TV show - "The Sesame Street." It is a book that explains why change happens so quickly and unexpectedly; almost like an infectious disease such as the measles. Change is what makes the world so diverse and it is why society never gets routine and new things and opportunities are always happening.
Gladwell relates human culture to an epidemic. Things in this world change from day to day and these changes are sometimes very small and short in length but can cause a major result. Just like for example if a child has the measles and he or she infects somebody in school, and two days later class is cancelled because the whole class is out sick. One week later, the class is back in session and none of the kids can ever get the measles again and the idea of measles leaves their head for good. Small things in life can cause major occurrences and can influence many people. These are called by Gladwell social epidemics and they happen all the time. He gives an example of how a no name author can write a book and a month later, the book can be a best seller, selling millions of copies. This is a big surprise and people want answers but sometimes there isn't any so Gladwell says don't be surprised. He brings up things like the power of the word of mouth and how this power can cause a no name author to be famous in a short period of time. .
Gladwell says that ideas and behaviors and new products move through the world just like a disease does. One of the chapters in his book talks about a weird pattern of teenage suicides in Micronesia. In the 1970's and 80's, Micronesia had suicides nearly ten times higher than anywhere else in the world. The suicide bug was spreading like crazy in this part of the world and teens were killing themselves for the same reasons in the same manner.