Duncan J. Watts is a physicist turned sociologist and author of the book Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age. In a recent interview with Fast Company, Watts disputes Malcolm Gladwell’s tipping point theory which became conventional wisdom when his book became a bestseller.

“It just doesn’t work,” Watts says … “A rare bunch of cool people just don’t have that power. And when you test the way marketers say the world works, it falls apart. There’s no there there.”

It’s difficult to build an argument such as Gladwell’s tipping point without relying on anecdotal rather than empirical evidence. Watts on the other hand bases his theory solely on controlled experiments albeit with computer simulations rather than people.

The debate that is sure to follow will be an interesting one and we can safely recommend both books as highly enjoyable.