Economists often talk about the 80/20 Principle, which is the idea that in any situation roughly 80 percent of the work will be done by 20 percent of the participants. In most societies, 20 percent of criminals commit 80 percent of crimes. Twenty percent of motorists cause 80 percent of all accidents. Twenty percent of beer drinkers drink 80 percent of all beer. When it comes to epidemics, though, this disproportionality becomes even more extreme: a tiny percentage of people do the majority of the work.
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About Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell was a contemporary Canadian journalist and author. Malcolm Timothy Gladwell is a Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996. Read more on Wikipedia →