Friday, January 27, 2012

The Tipping Point: Part Two

So I must admit that I found this chapter/section of the book to be much more interesting than the first. That being said I really enjoyed the first section too! But this one talked about the kinds of people who can create 'The Tipping Point.' It starts with the 'connectors.' Which was a really interesting idea of a type of person who knows everyone and there for is the reason that you know everyone that you know. Now being an actor I can say that this is a very interesting and common thing. Everyone in my field knows everyone because like the point made with the 'six degrees of Kevin Bacon' people tend to work with one another over and over while also meeting new people in every project. But then you have the real 'connectors' within the "connectors." While I may know a lot of people I definitely tend to take the route of having more close friends that knowing everyone a little bit. I still know a lot of people a little bit, but I tend to have a close circle that are my real friends. But the 'connectors' in the acting world make Roger Horchow look like an amateur (not that he is!!!) with the amount of contacts they have. But a part of the entertainment industry is literally getting to know people to try and get the next job. In addition to that lots of actors need to also have a survival job which often changes a lot. So they also live many different worlds as well. As is on the test in the book I got a 44. Which may not seem like a ton, but for someone in their twenties, it is a lot! Also there were plenty of names in there I'd never seen before and names that I would have thought were really common that weren't in it. But I have a few friends that probably would score well over 100.

The second person being a 'mason' is really interesting idea because I know a lot of these people too. One of the most interesting thing I've found in my life so far are the fact that certain groups tend to be the ones who get the best information and give them out. On such groups are the hard of hearing and the deaf communities. Being hard of hearing, but hearing enough to get by with hearing-aids, I was not exposed to this group of people until later in life. But in reading books on the difference in culture it is often mentioned that the deaf community is very strongly knit. This makes sense when you think about it because how many people know ASL (american sign language) or even enough to talk a little bit? So when you find a place where they are nice and also are able to help out they tell each other. This doesn't make it so that they won't go to other places of course, but on a side note, as a gay man, I tend to find out what places are friendly and go back and give them my business over and over because I feel safe there. in addition to this in the deaf culture money is not as "sacred" and it is ok to ask how much something costs and to tell people where to go for the best deals. Again as a gay man it makes sense to me that a group of people who share a bond would look out for each other. In addition to that you develop a trust with these people so that like Mark Alpert, 'when advice is given you will take it!'

The third kind of person mentioned was 'salesman.' Again I am very familiar with this kind of person. This is basically what actors do everyday with their lives, try and sell themselves to be what the producers and casting directors want in their films. But seeing how this is an election year it was also really interesting to me to watch the GOP debate as of late. All of them are essentially salesmen trying to sell one main product which is them. They are a product made of lots of many products such as their ideas to fix the country and their opinions on how life should be. I personally don't think that of the four GOP candidates there is a good salesman in the bunch. Now to be fair I am very much an Obama fan and while I have not loved everything that he has done I still like him. I think that out of all of them Obama is probably the best salesman in this upcoming presidential election. Ron Paul is probably the close second and the reason why for me is that I believe that he believes what he is talking about and his opinions. As for Gingrich, Santorum, and Romney their body language, faces and speech patterns make me feel like they are lying and they know it. I'm also very in tune with how people act in person and body language not just from acting but also because I'm hard of hearing. I rely on physical cues just as much as the verbal, because sometimes I don't hear everything coming out of someones mouth. For this reason I feel like I'm good at telling who is a salesman and who isn't. (I'm not perfect at figuring it out but still quite good at it!)

I also found it interesting when Malcolm talked about the news anchors in the election year of Reagan/Mondale. As we can see nowadays news is no longer news. News by nature is facts being read and told to the viewers with no bias. Today every news anchor has an opinion and the need to tell you how their views should be your views. I do enjoy the passion that is in the news anchors but would like to have one or two channels that have nothing to do with their views and just relay the facts. Also the other thing was the experiment on having people shake their heads or be still. This was quite fascinating and if you look at the current debates and the president and how they act you can see why certain people are just liked more than others. For example when it comes time for the debates between the GOP candidate and Obama I think that we are going to see a real shift in the poll numbers for the GOP candidate because they will be playing against someone who can charm people just by entering the room. His body language  and movements are like the head shaking and will most likely help him.

The other thing that I never noticed was the dance that people do when talking to each other. I had read a few passages when I was younger from a book called, 'Flirting 101: How to Charm Your Way to Love, Friendship, and Success,' (I think it was this book!!!) which talked about how a way to make people comfortable and more willing to talk to you is to mirror their body. So if they're leaning against the wall with their right shoulder then you should lean against it with your left shoulder. By mimicking their moves you subtly put yourself on their level which makes everyone feel comfortable. Back when I went to therapy I noticed that my therapist would do this too! It caused me to open up faster and lead to more discoveries and better sessions. The dance to me seems to be a similar thing. For example if you get into the same pattern with someone it will make people feel comfortable and feel like they're connecting with you.

I want to finish this off with two more things. One is a glance back at part one which I missed which talks about Kitty Genovese. I was really surprised when I had read this because I had witnessed something similar to that not but a week ago. I was out with a friend and we watched a car drive into an oncoming car and then swerve into a parked car and jump the curb causing quite the accident and scene. The area was full of people and I was stunned when I was the only one who called 911. In addition to that I watched the scene until the cops came from a distance because I was on the opposite side of the intersection, and there were only one or two people who were helping out the people who were in the accident. I was stunned then after the cops came how many people wanted to stay and watch. In reading this section in the book I realized I had witnessed the "bystander problem" in person.

The final thing I want to write about at this moment is the fact that Malcolm was really clever in using Paul Revere as the perfect example of all three of the kind of people who cause a 'Tipping Point' to happen. One thing that I wanted to point out though was the fact that he talked about how Paul knew more people than William Dawes. The only reason I bring this up is because while I believe it to be true that Paul probably knew more people that William it may not be fair to assume that William was not a connector too. He just may not have known people in those towns or areas. Back then I've been led to believe that people were far better with names and remembering people because there was less gadgets like computers or video games to preoccupy your time. Also the entertainment back then involved a lot more social interactions. Let me know what you think!

I'm looking forward to reading the next section soon!

Jason T Gaffney

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