Just got around to reading Blink. It’s a quick read – as usual with Gladwell the book’s central theme, the human ability to make almost instant decisions based on the unconscious mind and previously-acquired experience, is presented lucidly and with plenty of examples.
He structures the book in three broad areas:
- Evidence of human ability to make accurate decisions very quickly – faster than conscious thought
- The strengths and weaknesses this gives us
- Ways to develop skill and improve the accuracy of your instant impressions
Although Gladwell includes notes on sources, my frustration with books like this is that they only present one side of the argument, in favour of the core theory, and don’t really explore what else may be going on. However as an entertainment with a basis in science it’s a fun way to spend a couple of hours, and a good source of anecdotes to recycle in a “did you know” sort of way.
