Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell
Another classic from Malcolm Gladwell, Blink dissects the power of split-second decision making. Does taking your time to mull things over before making a decision outperform thinking on your feet? Does sleeping on it really work? Or are some individual’s instincts actually the best solution almost every time? These are all questions Gladwell answers with a number of examples from history like the election of Warren Harding and “New Coke”. An interesting read that will, ironically, make you think twice about thinking too much.
“The key to good decision making is not knowledge. It is understanding. We are swimming in the former. We are desperately lacking in the latter.”
Thoughts
Gladwell is one of those authors that makes you think he’s right no matter what he says. In Talking to Strangers I was a little less convinced when reading, but Blink is a really fascinating read that has everyday applications. I thought the baseball betting example was really unique as a way of thinking although sort of outrageous to think someone can get things like each strike right while I am hopelessly staring at the screen with a beer in my hand. Blink doesn’t do much in the way of helping you out with making decisions, but it does reassure you that going with your gut is a pretty good strategy. One takeaway that is clear is that split second decision making is powerful. Those that become masters use thin-slicing to block out all of the different variables and make their split decisions binary. Pretty interesting read if you like Gladwellian knowledge, but can be ignored if you want to do anything else with your life for 300 pages of reading time.
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