Kitty Genovese
Kitty was a woman who was murdered in March 13, 1964. Her death is mentioned because it is linked with the Law of Context discussed by the author. Kitty’s murder was witnessed by various by-standers but no one jumped in to help her and even the police was reluctant to go and help her as they believed the incident to be a domestic dispute. Her murder was analyzed by various psychologists who developed a theory called the bystander effect, explaining why people witnessing a horrendous crime would chose to remain unaffected and chose not to help the person in need. Kitty is mentioned in the second chapter of the book.
Gaetan Dugas
Dugas was a Canadian man who died in 1984 and who is considered as being ‘’Patient Zero’’ when it comes to the AIDS epidemic. Dugas was a flight attendant and was known for having a promiscuous life style and for boasting about his numerous sexual partners. He is believed to have been one of the people infected with AIDS who started the epidemic in America during the 1990s. Dugas is mentioned in the first chapter in regard with the Law of the Few , according to which only a few people can be responsible for the start of epidemics.
William Dawes
William is a man mentioned in the second chapter. He lived in America during the 16th century and was among the men who tried to warn the villages about the imminent British attack. His efforts were unsuccessful and in the second chapter the author explains why he failed to make himself heard.
Paul Revere
Paul is another man mentioned in the second chapter. He is an important historical figure who warned the Americans about the impending British invasion. The author analyzes the reasons why Paul was more successful than William in spreading the word.
Bernhard Goetz
Bernhard is the man mentioned in the fourth chapter. In the 90s, he killed three black men at the subway station and shot another man who eventually became paralyzed. Shortly after the incident, Bernhard was hailed as a hero, but then the public’s opinion changed and he became a pariah. The author used him to explain how context can shape up and how it can influence us.
Ton Gua
Ton is a person mentioned in the second chapter. Ton was a salesman and a financial planner, and he was praised by many for his intelligence and intuition.
Peter Jennings
Peter is a news anchor mentioned in the second chapter. He favored Reagan for the presidency; the author believes that the way Peter talked about the presidential candidates influenced his viewers’ opinion and eventually made them vote for one candidate.
Ronald Regan and Jimmy Carter
The two men are two presidential candidates mentioned in the second chapter. The author mentions them when he analyzes the way the news anchors talked about the presidential candidates ended up affecting the way the people voted.
Sima
Sima is the boy mentioned in the seventh chapter. He is considered by being the first person to kill himself in Micronesia. He killed himself after his father threw him out for failing to bring him something he needed. After Sima killed himself, many children followed his example and committed suicide.
Mark Alpert
Mark is a financial Maven mentioned in the second chapter. The author appreciates him for his business ideas and for his economic strategies. He is also liked with the Hush Puppy movement.
Joan Conney
Joan is mentioned in the third chapter as being the producer of the show Sesame Street. Joan is hailed for her talent as a producer and for her ability to connect with children and for her efforts of trying to educate children, not only to create content that will bring her financial gain.
Rudolph Giuliani and William Bratton
The two men are mentioned in the fourth chapter when the author mentions the Broken Window Law. According to the law, the government sought to punish smaller offences just as they would punish more aggravated ones in an effort to drop the crime rates in a short period of time.
