Blink
Buy Now
By using these links, you support READO. We receive an affiliate commission without any additional costs to you.
Description
In his breakthrough bestseller The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell redefined how we understand the world around us. Now, in Blink, he transforms the way we understand the world within. Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant--in the blink of an eye--that actually aren't as simple as they seem. Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while others are consistently inept? Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error? How do our brains really work--in the office, in the classroom, in the kitchen, and in the bedroom? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others? In Blink we meet the psychologist who has learned to predict whether a marriage will last, based on a few minutes of observing a couple; the tennis coach who knows when a player will double-fault before the racket even makes contact with the ball; the antiquities experts who recognize a fake at a glance. Here, too, are great failures of "blink": the election of Warren Harding; "New Coke"; and the shooting of Amadou Diallo by police. Blink reveals that great decision makers aren't those who process the most information or spend the most time deliberating, but those who have perfected the art of "thin-slicing"--filtering the very few factors that matter from an overwhelming number of variables.
Book Information
Posts
The most interesting part of this book are the case studies. However, the author really struggles with making his point clear and precise. He takes quite a long time to properly state what he even wants to achieve and then tells a lot of stories that are loosely connected to his point but also not really. Basically, the moral of the story is that with experience you gain a gut instinct which is your brain being so used to paying attention to certain things that it gathers and interprets all the details without you noticing, and as a result of that you "know" things without being able to explain why. If the author was trying to make the point that we all should listen more to our "gut" then he totally failed to scientifically prove it or make any other impactful statement. It's an interesting little read when you have already done your research and are not looking to gain any real new insights into that topic but otherwise, there are better books to spend your time on.
I feel conflicted about this book because it had interesting and plausible chapters but also completely misleading ones. The author has a point when talking about snap judgement and how certain factors can influence it, such as expterise and training. But that seemed fairly obvious. I enjoyed the chapter on market strategies and taste tests as it highlighted how consumerism works. The chapters on the fake art piece and successfullness of marriage based on emotional cues were a highlight. However, what really brought my rating down was the chapter on the police officer's judgment on whether to shoot a black man at night time. Gladwell misses the point of his own arguments, that snap judgements are influenced by training and experience. Most police officers were more likely to identify an object as a gun when a picture of a black man appeared before. And he claims it as a case of temporary autism. This is such a disrepect to the neurodivergent community by not taking it serious. Furhtermore, it disregards the racial bias that is clearly installed in most American systems (especially police). Yes, factors as fear, rushed timing and number of police factors play a role, but they don't excuse that police officers HAVE A BIAS clearly portrayed in the study Gladwell showed as an example. Excusing racial profiling with a made up temporary autism argument AIN'T IT! Conclusion: disappointing, because Gladwell really has a compelling writing style and makes good arguments when talking about relationships, market strategies and art, but tries to force his arguments on much more complicated political problems.
Description
In his breakthrough bestseller The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell redefined how we understand the world around us. Now, in Blink, he transforms the way we understand the world within. Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant--in the blink of an eye--that actually aren't as simple as they seem. Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while others are consistently inept? Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error? How do our brains really work--in the office, in the classroom, in the kitchen, and in the bedroom? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others? In Blink we meet the psychologist who has learned to predict whether a marriage will last, based on a few minutes of observing a couple; the tennis coach who knows when a player will double-fault before the racket even makes contact with the ball; the antiquities experts who recognize a fake at a glance. Here, too, are great failures of "blink": the election of Warren Harding; "New Coke"; and the shooting of Amadou Diallo by police. Blink reveals that great decision makers aren't those who process the most information or spend the most time deliberating, but those who have perfected the art of "thin-slicing"--filtering the very few factors that matter from an overwhelming number of variables.
Book Information
Posts
The most interesting part of this book are the case studies. However, the author really struggles with making his point clear and precise. He takes quite a long time to properly state what he even wants to achieve and then tells a lot of stories that are loosely connected to his point but also not really. Basically, the moral of the story is that with experience you gain a gut instinct which is your brain being so used to paying attention to certain things that it gathers and interprets all the details without you noticing, and as a result of that you "know" things without being able to explain why. If the author was trying to make the point that we all should listen more to our "gut" then he totally failed to scientifically prove it or make any other impactful statement. It's an interesting little read when you have already done your research and are not looking to gain any real new insights into that topic but otherwise, there are better books to spend your time on.
I feel conflicted about this book because it had interesting and plausible chapters but also completely misleading ones. The author has a point when talking about snap judgement and how certain factors can influence it, such as expterise and training. But that seemed fairly obvious. I enjoyed the chapter on market strategies and taste tests as it highlighted how consumerism works. The chapters on the fake art piece and successfullness of marriage based on emotional cues were a highlight. However, what really brought my rating down was the chapter on the police officer's judgment on whether to shoot a black man at night time. Gladwell misses the point of his own arguments, that snap judgements are influenced by training and experience. Most police officers were more likely to identify an object as a gun when a picture of a black man appeared before. And he claims it as a case of temporary autism. This is such a disrepect to the neurodivergent community by not taking it serious. Furhtermore, it disregards the racial bias that is clearly installed in most American systems (especially police). Yes, factors as fear, rushed timing and number of police factors play a role, but they don't excuse that police officers HAVE A BIAS clearly portrayed in the study Gladwell showed as an example. Excusing racial profiling with a made up temporary autism argument AIN'T IT! Conclusion: disappointing, because Gladwell really has a compelling writing style and makes good arguments when talking about relationships, market strategies and art, but tries to force his arguments on much more complicated political problems.