Homelessness
One of Gladwell's essays is titled "Why Problems like Homelessness May Be Easier to Solve Than to Manage," pointing to a key ironic flaw in how governments deal with issues like homelessness. In this essay, Gladwell shows how political actions to manage homelessness waste a lot of money without getting to the root of the problem.
Female Contraceptives
In his essay "John Rock's Error, Gladwell shows that the female contraceptive pill ironically has benefits outside of stopping women from getting pregnant. However, this is not something that is widely known.
The week break
In "John Rock's Error," Gladwell also refers to the myth that women need to take a week break per month while on the contraceptive pill. As such, many women menstruate each month needlessly.
The cycle of homelessness
Gladwell discusses homelessness in this text, emphasizing how difficult it is for homeless people to recover. He refers to a man called Murray Barr who had a drinking problem and became homeless. After this, he accumulated bills from the hospital after entering treatment for intoxication before being arrested. As such, Gladwell shows that attempts to manage homelessness ironically make the problems worse.
