Reviews

Change: How to Make Big Things Happen by Damon Centola

sluttierbookslut69's review

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challenging hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

megdom's review

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3.0

Some things I learned:
- Simple contagions, like viruses, gossip, and news benefit from reach and influencers
- Complex contagions - behaviors people resist, like getting a vaccine, adopting a new technology, or making a lifestyle shift - benefit from strong ties, tightly connected networks.
- To spread behavior change and to grow a movement - like the Movement for Black Lives - repeated exposure is needed to influence change, wide bridges between networks of close ties are essential...
- The pattern, rather than the number, of connections matters
- Shift the goal from spreading information to propagating norms

freedom410's review

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4.0

Some fascinating insights into the nature of social change and norm diffusion. The book probably would have benefitted from tighter editing (lots of hype and fluff), but despite that highly recommended for readers interested in how to make change happen.

angelancoffin's review

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3.0

This is an interesting read, but much like The Power of Habit, it looks more on a larger and often times political viewpoint. I did appreciate the knowledge and how the author wrote in an unbiased way.

kizzlesizzlewolstie85's review

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4.0

I enjoyed this book and found the topics fascinating and informative. Not an easy read nor always equally engaging but still glad I read it. The last chapter does more heavy lifting than most the others.

vlrenee's review

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4.0

This book has made me rethink how networks can accelerate or stop change. Centola shares very interesting strategies that are backed by evidence and numerous examples of extensive research.

cmjustice's review

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4.0

Useful tools for fomenting. Unpacking the existing pattern of propaganda, manipulation and directed studies all evolving and leading us toward a number of possibilities.

pg 168
The social power of a witch hunt comes from the fact that the only way for citizens to protect themselves is to conceal their distaste for the ascendant social norm. The result is that people lose the ability to read each others minds. Their best guesses about what they should expect from others, and what others will expect of them, becomes based on the shared illusion that everyone supports the norm. The more people conceal what they truly believe, the more reason everyone has to enforce the social norm for fear of being seen as deviant.

hugold's review

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informative medium-paced

4.5

orlaburke's review against another edition

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informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

I would recommend this to anyone trying to undertake change in existing systems. 

irisgreen's review

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informative reflective medium-paced

3.0