In 2000, New York Times bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell released the groundbreaking book “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference”, which explored how small ideas can create lasting changes in everyday life through social engineering and the “tipping points” phenomenon. Two decades after the book’s original publication and in the spirit of an organizational mission that values a second look at seminal ideas, we speak with Gladwell about what he has learned and, in some cases, reconsidered.In this conversation with Open to Debate guest moderator Nayeema Raza, Gladwell discusses his sequel “Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering”, which looks at the darker side of social epidemics, what he thinks might have been wrong with some of his original theories, and how such thought evolution is a sign of growth.
When it comes to carbon dioxide, last year was a record year. The world emitted more of the climate-warming gas in 2022 than in any year since scientists began recording levels in 1900. The culprit,…
The dangers of climate change are “no longer over the horizon.” Humanity may soon pass the “point of no return.” These are the phrases U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres used to describe what he called an…
For decades, the development of nuclear power has sparked staunch debate among scientists, politicians, and activists alike. For its proponents, the promise of nuclear energy is clear: It's the most effective means of reducing greenhouse…
Geoengineering is an ambitious set of experiments proposed by scientists to help mitigate the effects of climate change. And one type in particular, called solar geoengineering, has been the subject of debate. This process involves,…
In 2014, a permit to hunt a single endangered black rhino was sold for $350,000… as part of a program to support its conservation in Namibia. Counterintuitive? Through funds raised from legal hunting—the purchase of…
Genetically modified (GM) foods have been around for decades. Created by modifying the DNA of one organism through the introduction of genes from another, they are developed for a number of different reasons—to fight disease,…