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DEEPTI’S RESEARCH DISPATCH
About Social Tipping Points and Climate Action
Also known as phase transitions and critical mass. A research roundup
Social tipping points are the mechanism by which social change spreads and sparks transformation. In my writing, I frequently talk about social tipping points toward climate action as a goal to aim for.
Here, I dive deeper into the concept of tipping points and its connection to social change with a tour of the research I’ve collected.
I’m hoping this will be a useful reference to come back to whenever discussions of the topic arise.
What are tipping points?
A tipping point is the colloquial term for a phase transition, or the phenomenon where incremental changes in a system reach a critical threshold, leading to rapid transformation.
You may have heard of tipping points from Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point.
This phenomenon goes by many names, since it’s seen in many parts of the natural world, including changing phases of matter, nuclear fission (where the term ‘critical mass’ comes from), ecological shifts, swarm behavior of insects, epidemics, and the rise and fall of societies.
