About two weeks ago, the New York Times Magazine ran a fascinating cover story on steps being taken to address the escalating pattern of gun-related violence in some urban neighborhoods across America. Instead of treating these outbreaks of violence in a traditional manner, neighborhood organizations such as CeaseFire are banding together to treat the problem like you would an epidemic: finding the people who "transmit" the violence and effectively quarantining them so that the violence can not spread. The New York Times Magazine profiles the work of an epidemiologist in Chicago who started thinking about treating violence as a disease after returning back from Africa -- as well as a dedicated group of "violence interrupters" who seek out gangland disputes and defuse them before they can escalate into something more deadly.

If you've ever read Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, you'll recognize some of these same ideas about the way that trends build over time, before reaching a critical mass and then "tipping" for no apparent reason. Gladwell helped to popularize the vocabulary of "virus" and "epidemics" when talking about certain cultural phenomena. (In fact, I was more than a little surprised that the 10-page article didn't mention Gladwell once!)

[image: New York Times Magazine]

UPDATE: Just realized that the image on the cover of the New York Times Magazine is one of those visual illusions in which you see either the "ugly hag" or the "beautiful woman," depending on your mindset. Look at the cover once, and you'll probably see the gun and a band-aid. Look at it again, though, and you'll see a doctor in scrubs.