And he leaves us with no clear sense of how to use this new found information to make better decisions and judgments in our own lives. Do I trust my insights because my rational brain will fool me, or do I mistrust my instincts because of the inherent bias contained within them?
If Gladwell knows he sure didn't tell me. One example of somewhere where I think he didn't analyze the situation enough was when he talked about the Wisconsin Card Sorting task pick cards from one of two decks, one deck tends towards bad and the other towards good outcomes.
He focused solely on how the unconscious mind was aware of the pattern which deck was bad and which was good long before the conscious mind was aware of it when making decisions. And this was shown by the fact that sweating occurred when choosing from the "bad" deck before the subject knew why or was even aware of it. What he fails to mention about all this is that the reason for this is because we are designed to be "risk averse". It is not because we are making brilliant snap judgments, or that our brains have "learned" the rules before we are aware of it.
From an evolutionary perspective it pays off more to learn from our mistakes than learn from our victories. Mistakes are costly. This is why bad memories are more salient than happy ones. The sweating that occurs is a physiological indicator of and means of prompting the organism to stay away. It's not even that this explanation is in contradiction to Gladwell's; it is that it IS an explanation for the phenomena Gladwell describes, one easily at Gladwells' disposal. Two other aspects of this book stuck out as major frustrations for me: 1 Gladwell spends a lot of time early on talking about the mysterious nature of our ability to thin slice make accurate snap judgments based on very little information and urges us to accept this.
To his credit, he does attempt to demystify this somewhat later on, but not enough in my opinion. His first example is of a museum that purchased an expensive sculpture which all the data and scientists evaluated as legitimate, but which experts in the field immediately saw as a fake without being able to put into words why. It's purposefully misleading to label this as some sort of mysterious phenomena.
For instance, it's important to remember that these people were experts. An amateur would not and could not make this same snap judgment because they don't have the training to. This ability didn't magically appear, it came from learning and training and synaptic change. These experts learned over time. They studied types of stone, and different styles, and everything else that goes into understanding their field. And this process created memories And there exists a system or systems in the brain that can make decisions based on that neuronal structure without conscious awareness.
Shortcuts so to speak. But these shortcuts are a product of that neuronal structure, which is a product of that synaptic change, which is a product of the learning the individual did over time. It's misleading to call this mysterious. What's important, and more interesting in my opinion, is figuring out the underlying processes that allow this to happen.
He talks about autism and how autistic people can't mind read don't have theories of other minds and how this affects their interpretation of events around them and of the world in general. He compares what happens to people in stressful situations to this, that during these situations, because the fight or flight response has taken over, people have tunnel vision and can no longer "read minds" and thus make all sorts of mistakes and bad decisions because they are focusing on the wrong things.
My issue is that he, incomprehensibly, makes a literal, as opposed to metaphorical, connection with autism. He argues that during these times we become "temporarily autistic". While it's true that one aspect of our behavior becomes similar to an aspect of an autistic individuals behavior during these times, it seems like a pretty ridiculous statement to make as a broad generalization.
He spends quite a bit of time talking about this and I don't think it does anyone any good. In the end I think I was most disappointed by the fact that all the elements to create a good book WERE present here, and the failure is due in large part to how he puts it all together and his ability to analyze all the disparate ideas properly insert irony here.
Evolution has built into us shortcuts to react quickly to stimuli in our environment. Our experience, whether broadly cultural or personal, prunes, enhances, changes those built in shortcuts as we go through life. Some develop as unfair biases towards people of different races. Some develop as we become experts in a subject. Thus some can be trusted and some can't.
Our brains can't tell the difference between fact and fiction, only between experience and non experience, and so it's important to be aware of what kind of decision making goes on under the surface and what factors are involved in those decisions so we can be more aware of whether to trust them or not.
Other factors can affect decision making, such as our emotional state due to the physiological changes that take place during those times, and this too is important to understand because it radically alters our perception during those times. The most important thing to remember is that experience translates into instinct through synaptic change, and through work and training we can increase the effectiveness of our gut reactions and snap decisions, but due to biases and our altered states during emotional situations those instincts should not always be trusted outright.
There you go Malcolm Gladwell, please feel free to use this in the next printing. No citation necessary. Dec 06, Snezan rated it really liked it Recommends it for: anyone with an interest in human interaction. This work is worth a read, if not more than one. I hesitate to say too much, since I believe the conclusions it reaches are explored in the very beginning and will immediately inform the reader of its relevance. I don't know why that came out so long winded, the reader will find out how interested they are by the first or second chapter.
I found the book fascinating for its close look into social interactions, particularly between two people, and for explaining why i sometimes I think the way tha This work is worth a read, if not more than one.
I found the book fascinating for its close look into social interactions, particularly between two people, and for explaining why i sometimes I think the way that I do. The intuitive process of understanding is one that has made a lot of sense to me, and I am glad this book takes a microscope to that underpinning of society's operation. The examples in the book are relevant, timely and buttress the argument well.
Especially the story about the psychologist that has a 90 percent success rate of whether a relationship would last past 7 years. The author's decision to skip a little exposition on detractors from the intuitive system of problem solving was a little disappointing, although I do understand that Blink is not, nor pretends to be a scholarly work.
Instead it purports to be a lighthouse for a part of our decision-making that is often ignored in society and stays hidden from our conscious understanding. We often don't know why we like or dislike someone the way we do, and yet we allow that judgment to affect our interaction extremely or waffle endlessly over trying to deny or prove our first impression.
How many times do you remember saying " really wanted to like that," that being a dress or a person or a book and how much time has it wasted. Or why it sometimes take only a moment for a person to decide whether or not an idea has merit. Gladwell explores those snap judgments in details, and writes in a readable, approachable way. He is not afraid to tackle some controversial topics.
Sep 01, Zinta rated it it was amazing. Where does it all go, after you are done experiencing the experience, thinking the thought, feeling the feeling? Nothing is ever lost. The subconscious is like a vast warehouse, limitless, in fact, and as Malcolm Gladwell illustrates in Blink, we access all that is stored in that warehouse with every blinking and waking moment.
Usually, we call this instant access - gut instinct. Or, the inner voice of wisdom. Instinct, however, is nothing magical or mysterious. It is simply our accumulated and s Where does it all go, after you are done experiencing the experience, thinking the thought, feeling the feeling? It is simply our accumulated and stored knowledge over a lifetime.
If there was ever an argument for listening to those who have some serious and well-lived years under their belts, this is it. Blink illustrates with numerous and widely varied examples how life experience, the more the better, contributes to our ability to make quick, yet sound decisions. In fact, the quicker, the better. Blink is about what the author calls "thin slicing.
Two seconds, two minutes The fascinating thing is - these snap judgments are, more often than not, precise ones. It is when we begin to over analyze and rationalize that we tend to go awry. The trick is to allow the accumulated wisdom rise up and do its magic, trust in it.
Then again Gladwell never does make a concluding statement in his book, and perhaps it is up to the reader to decide do it quickly? For all the many situations in which that moment of initial wisdom is uncannily precise, there are other times that our deeply ingrained biases muck up the clarity of that process. Gladwell cites data to illustrate how stereotypes, for instance, persist - no matter how gallant our conscious efforts to overcome them.
Telling yourself you don't really think what you think simply won't work. Only exposure to experiences, or positive visualizations, will change the false ideas and images our subconscious has absorbed over time. All of which is a strong argument for "garbage in, garbage out.
The idea of what you present to your eye is what you will later project out to the world is a convincing one, as the author finds himself unable to beat the test on stereotypes when he has to react quickly. Only exposure to more positive images over time can change his test results and dislodge his prejudices. Gladwell discusses this phenomena of instant response-true response in a manner of ways.
On and on, in one fascinating example and study after another, Gladwell intrigues with his findings. And you know he's right. You know it But if the author doesn't make any overall conclusion from all of this fascinating data, then the reader is left to her own wiles. Experience counts more than credentials.
What we expose ourselves to on a regular basis molds who we are, how we view others, what choices we make and how we behave. Biases and prejudices are far stronger than our conscious will to overcome them; we must align our environment to align our subconscious. Our deepest self forgets nothing. All we have ever done and been and seen and observed leads to who we are today and tomorrow. All of which gives one pause. But don't pause too long. It is that initial millisecond that may matter most of all.
This book explores the way people make decisions, particularly snap judgments, which are based on the unconscious mind. The author speaks to the importance of the first two seconds of any encounter, pointing out examples of where access to more information leads to less optimal decisions. He offers a number of case studies to support his assertions.
These studies include such wide-ranging topics as the election of Warren G. Harding, the New Coke debacle, war games, orchestra auditions, police sh This book explores the way people make decisions, particularly snap judgments, which are based on the unconscious mind. Harding, the New Coke debacle, war games, orchestra auditions, police shootings, and authenticity of works of art.
He shows how these first impressions can be distorted, especially in stressful situations. He explains how quick decisions can be improved through repeated exposures.
The author obviously loves his subject, and he occasionally goes overboard in providing detail. For example, he covers facial recognition patterns down to the names of the muscles in the face.
Unlike some of his other books, it is harder to figure out how to bring these concepts down to an individual level. I always enjoy finding out more about how the human mind works. Jan 14, Carolyn rated it liked it. Equally as fascinating as Gladwell's other book The Tipping Point. Really makes you think, consider your decisions differently.
Quotes: But in the end it comes down to a matter of respect, and the simplest way that respect is communicated is through tone of voice. Of the tens of millions of American men below five foot six, a grand total of ten in my sample have reached the level of CEO, which says that being short is probably as much of a handicap to corporate success as being a woman or an Afric Equally as fascinating as Gladwell's other book The Tipping Point.
Of the tens of millions of American men below five foot six, a grand total of ten in my sample have reached the level of CEO, which says that being short is probably as much of a handicap to corporate success as being a woman or an African American. Most of us, in ways that we are not entirely aware of, automatically associate leadership ability with imposing physical stature.
Prejudging is the kiss of death The truth is that improv isn't random and chaotic at all One of the most important of the rules that make improv possible, for examples is the idea of agreement, the notion that a very simple way to create a story—or humor—is to have characters accept everything that happens to them.
Good improvisors seem telepathic; everything looks pre-arranged. What the dog sees? Here's how dogs actually see the world In the eye are light receptors called cones and rods. Turns out, dogs have fewer cone receptors than humans — which means they can't see as many colors. Human cones can detect 3 colors: red, green, and blue. Dog cones can only detect 2 colors.
How long is the tipping point? The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Who wrote The Tipping Point? Malcolm Gladwell. What is the main idea of the book Blink? What is thin slicing in psychology? The bestselling author of The Bomber Mafia focuses on "minor geniuses" and idiosyncratic behavior to illuminate the ways all of us organize experience in this "delightful"….
What's Inside. Also by Malcolm Gladwell. Some problem solving requires a flash of insight while some logic based-ones require explanations. However, trying to reflect or explain insightful problem solving can actually undermine the ability to insight! Dijksterhuis in his recent research supported this possibility by reporting evidence that unconscious thinkers may make better decisions than conscious thinkers.
On a third paradigm, Payne et al. Recently, these research points were criticized as possibly overrating the contribution of strictly unconscious processes to behavioral control Newell and Shanks, While Gigerenzer and Dijksterhuis evince reasoning to be either conscious or unconscious, Gladwell demonstrates them as a process wherein the unconscious thought dominates for the first 2 s. BLINK is highly suitable for readers who crave to understand the complexities of human mind and decisions.
Patience is a necessity and passion a prerequisite to absorb the hidden truths about your own mind while you read BLINK! The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Dijksterhuis, A. Think different: the merits of unconscious thought in preference development and decision making.
Gigerenzer, G.
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