OVERALL: Blink was a very refreshing read, providing a new perspective to think about thinking without being verbose and overly technical. Malcolm Gladwell’s storytelling makes the science and non fiction aspect digestible. Overall, a very thought-provoking book about internal biases and split second decisions.
BOOK BASICS
TITLE: Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
RATING: 5/5
SYNOPSIS: 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. REVIEW: I really enjoyed Malcolm Gladwell’s style of almost storytelling narration in Blink. Gladwell navigates through the topic of split second decisions with an assortment of examples, ranging from speed dating scenarios to the rivalry of tastebuds between Coke and Pepsi. These examples were paired with precise language that added clarity to the concepts brought up. Blink is nonfiction writing, but there’s a pleasant balance between the logic discussed in the more technical concepts and the feeling of a personable narrator guiding me them. I remember initially getting into podcasts by starting out with an episode of Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell (the episode about the Brown v. Board of education decision!) - I loved the way Gladwell talked about major historical events through a different lens, whether that was talking about lesser-known stakeholders or forgotten historical documents as evidence. This pattern of changing my perspective continues for Blink as it’s made me (ironically) think more about my own split-second decisions. Why do I pick this T shirt over the other instinctively? Do I hold any subconscious biases against appearance? What about my decisions when ordering food? I’ll admit the idea of a book about thinking fast leading to me overthinking seems counter-intuitive, but my point is that Blink definitely provided good food for thought - my curiosity about decisions made in the snap of a finger lingered long after I finished my read.