It's a little different tipping point than talked about in Malcom Gladwell's book. The point of this cartoon is that sometimes the things that go wrong aren't a "single-point failure." That is, it isn't a single big mistake made by a single individual that causes problems and makes another individual mad. Often, it is simply little mistakes that add up. Often, it is several things that are overlooked or just a little bit off; until the gap is big enough for someone to fall through...