Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

This book was, by far, the most redundant thing I have ever read. It would have made for an interesting article in a newspaper or magazine; however, the book itself is way too long and repetitious for its topic. I am very disappointed that I spent money on this item. Too bad my "thin slicing" is apparently terrible and could not help me on this purchase.

Gladwell writes interestingly and clearly about some interesting research. But it doesn't stick together for me; seems more a compilation of essays than a cohesive book. Nor do I believe the main simplistic conclusion people tend to draw from it is justified or helpful.

More specifically, Blink doesn't at all justify the general simplification so many seem to be taking that it's ALWAYS (or even nearly always) best to go with immediate intuition/gut feel rather than more deliberate decision-making. Rather, one of the key aspects of judgement and decision-making is knowing when to go with a quick intuitive assessment and when a systematic approach is needed. Blink doesn't help me much with that at all; rather it seems to obscure the issue in my view.

Hence I see the first chapters of 'Nudge' as a better popular introduction to decision-making. The first author of Nudge (Thaler) has the depth of experience in decision-making research that Gladwell lacks.

Let me being this by saying that reading Malcolm Gladwell's books are always a pleasure; he constructs his works like a documentary film, and that makes the complex topics he writes about both engrossing and more approachable. If a reader were to read only the first half of this book, they may have a more positive impression of this book then it is worthy of.

However, this book is an utter disappointment because it never reaches a conclusion. I feel like Mr. Gladwell started this book in support of the unconscious mind as a powerful, accurate decision making force; and as he researched further, grew less sure of this position, until near the end of the book he warns us against relying on the unconscious At the very end, it's apparent that the author doesn't really know where he stands on this topic, and in the afterward, the reader is ping-ponged back and forth as Mr. Gladwell argues with himself.

His final conclusion that he leaves us with--that juries should not be allowed to view a defendant in person--flies in the face of other research that he presents earlier in the book--that the unconscious mind is able to pick up on "micro-expressions" that reveal obscured emotions and motivations.

Mr. Gladwell is clearly unable to make a decision on this topic, and that only leaves his readers ultimately confused.

Malcolm Gladwell is an entertaining writer. His book The Tipping Point almost made my Top Ten list last year, not only for the thoroughly enjoyable read (which it was), but also for the intriguing analysis into human behavior and consumerism that Gladwell offers.

Blink carries on The Tipping Point's tradition of great illustrations and fascinating data. This is a book about "the power of thinking without thinking." In summary, Gladwell shows us how our snap judgments are often more accurate than our deliberate decisions that we take months to make. Gladwell peppers the book with examples that prove his thesis, providing church leaders with plenty of stories that beg to be used as sermon illustrations.

Gladwell also writes about the "dark side of blink," when our snap judgments are wrong. He writes of police mistakes, voter shallowness, and the fact that Coke still outsells Pepsi, even when Pepsi wins hands-down in a taste contest.

This book is entertaining, educating, and provocative, and it challenges some of our presuppositions about how the mind works.

Malcolm blends storytelling and journalism into very interesting reading. Somehow the reading is not entirely satisfying, because there's really no point. Most readers take from the book that we can make decisions within a couple seconds and that can be more accurate than taking weeks or months to study the situation. Often it boils down to experience. At the same time, the book talks about how wrong our initial impressions can be, because of bias, stereotypes, and pressure.

So the lesson is that your initial impressions made within the first second or two can be dead on right...except when you're dead on wrong. Fun stories, though.