Psychology & Sociology: BLINK

THE BARE FACTS

Title: Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Publisher: Little, Brown
Date of Publication: 2005
Pages: 277
Grade That Means Nothing Coming From Me: A -

SO BASICALLY, IT’S ABOUT…

The decisions and judgments you make within the first two seconds of encountering a situation or problem, the reasons to trust in that split-second assessment, and the ways to train your brain to use that snap judgment judiciously and effectively.

WHY’D YOU WANNA READ THAT?

First, my fiancée Clair spotted a mention of the book in some airline magazine, and the fuse was lit. Then reviews started popping up everywhere, and the spark traveled quickly from Bugs Bunny’s fort to Yosemite Sam’s. Finally, I followed a link to an archive of New Yorker pieces written by the author and was highly entertained, thus setting off the large cache of TNT stored in the basement.

AND HOW’D THAT WORK OUT FOR YOU?

Quite well, to begin. Gladwell is kind of like the guy you hope to meet at a party; he’s got lots of very fascinating stories which are short but surprising, and you walk out the door thinking, “That was really interesting.” Blink is filled with little anecdotes that don’t necessarily connect with the way we think the world works: art experts identify an antique statue as a fake after scientists have vouched for its authenticity. Radio marketers reject a pop singer who drives audiences wild and makes experienced musicians say he’s the next big thing. An orchestra tries to fire a musician who the conductor once proclaimed as “exactly what we’re looking for.” Gladwell works to tie all this and more together to analyze the information that informs our split-second decisions, and tries to figure out why some of those decisions are good and others are quite bad.

Gladwell is something of a buzzed-about author at the moment. This is due, in part, to the intriguing nature of the subjects he chooses to write about. Also, the tremendous success of his previous book, The Tipping Point, has made him into a bit of a touchstone for popular writing on human behavior. But I think the biggest reason for his success is that he is a darn good writer. His work is immediately compelling, and draws you into subjects that would not, on face value, appear to be terribly interesting.

My one qualm would be that I’m not sure he ever proves his point. Gladwell wants us to reject our long-held belief that a decision that is not very carefully thought through is a poor one. Fair enough. But in almost every example of someone acting quickly – those art curators and historians who spotted the fake, a tennis pro who can identify double faults before they happen, a protocol for doctors to identify potential heart attacks – a certain level of expertise is required to make that decision. It stands to reason that when you have extensive training and experience in your field, your brain will become hard-wired to act appropriately without thinking. Even a critical chapter concerning the infamous incident in which New York police officers pumped 41 bullets into an unarmed man reinforces this point. The officers’ lack of experience is a major factor in their inability to interpret a highly-stressful situation correctly. So in the end, I’m not sure if Gladwell’s contention that our brains can be trained to react quickly tells the whole story. But it’s also possible that I’m thinking about this way too hard. My first impression told me that he’s got a point. Let’s go with that.

SHOULD I READ THIS?

This book spent most of the summer atop the bestsellers list, so the chances are good that you already have. If nothing else, Blink is a series of intriguing stories told very well. But it is something else. It’s a defense of gut instinct, of an initial reaction. And it’s nice to know that when you have an immediate response to something, you’re not necessarily crazy to be listening.

Shane Wilson is a writer and contributing editor to The Greenroom and writes Last Wilson Testaments.