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Brady Shiplet

Article # 7

Chapter 12

Blink  I have recently purchased and read Blink: the Power of Thinking without Thinking, the 2005 book by

Malcolm Gladwell. It popularizes research from psychology and behavioral economics on the adaptive

unconscious; mental processes that work rapidly and automatically from relatively little information.[1]

The main concept of the book is “thin slicing.” The intent of the book is to convince the reader that

these snap judgments can be as good as or better than reasoned conclusions, to discover where and

when rapid cognition proves a poor strategy, and to examine how the rapid cognition's results can beimproved.

The secret is knowing which information to discard and which to keep. Our brains are able to perform

that work unconsciously; when rapid cognition breaks down, the brain has seized upon a more obvious

 but less correct predictor. [2] The author summaries, “Snap judgments are, first of all, enormously quick:they rely on the thinnest slices of experience … they are also unconscious. There can be as much value

in the blink of an eye as in months of rational analysis”

There are things that can be done to redirect our mind along lines more conducive to accurate thinslicing: we can alter our unconscious biases; we can change products' packaging to something that tests

 better with consumers; we can analyze numerical evidence and make decision trees; we can analyze all

 possible facial expressions and their shared meanings, then watch for them on videotape; and we canevade our biases by blind screening, hiding the evidence that will lead us to incorrect conclusions. [2]

Gladwell suggests implementing techniques that will short-circuit prejudices in our every day lives. In

this way, he contends, we can reconnect with and benefit from the power of the blink He cites, as anexample, the fact that many try-outs for orchestras are now held with the applicant musicians playing

 behind a screen. All sexual, racial and physical characteristics are eliminated so selectors can

concentrate on listening for the best musician. Gladwell concludes the book by encouraging readers to

take this lesson to heart and apply the lessons of Blink to make positive changes in their decision-making behaviors.

Retrieved from "http://www.wikisummaries.org/Blink:_The_Power_of_Thinking_Without_Thinking"

References 

1. "Blink". Wikipedia. January 25, 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blink_(book)>.2. Lasser, Jonathan . "Blink by Malcolm Gladwell". About. January 25, 2010

<http://contemporarylit.about.com/od/socialsciences/fr/blink.htm>.