Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking - catchy title isn't it. This book by Malcolm Gladwell was recently recommended to me, and I took my normal course of action when this happens. I went to the iTunes store to see if the book was also in audio format. I love listening to educational/self development types of books while driving. Zig Ziglar would say I am using my car as a university. I don't know about that, but I do accomplish quite a bit of "reading" this way.
I was able to purchase this book in audio format, and I was drawn in immediately. This book's title fits the content well. Gladwell does a great job of keeping your interest by diving into many different scenarios of people being able to think without thinking. There are many fascinating situations, or case studies rather, that Gladwell presents that reveal this potion of our thinking that happens so quickly that we cannot explain it. He presents it as the thinking that happens in the locked portion of our brain. We all have this ability and we all use this ability, but some people are much better at it than others. One case study refers to the famous (at least in counseling circles) Dr. Gottman's abilities to predict marriage success to 90% accuracy by just sitting down with a couple for one hour. Other case studies include police shootouts, determining if a statue is a fake, and analysis of a recent war game.
I enjoyed this book and I would recommend the audio version to anyone else. I would warn you about the format in which I downloaded it. iTunes has this nice habit of not breaking up the book into logical portions. I got seven and a half hours of material to listen to but only 4 tracks. This makes it more difficult to listen to when I am using an ipod one day and my car stereo the next. There is lots of fast forwarding. I digress though because this is not a review of iTunes audio books.
As the book progresses you begin to feel that there is a little more at the heart of it than just this power. I think that Gladwell had an agenda with the writing of this book, and that agenda deals with racism and sexism. The agenda didn't necessarily turn me off, but it did steer me in a different direction causing me to think about how racism is trapped in my own head without me knowing it. It made me think that while I feel that I am not racist, there is a chance that if I let myself lose control I could just as easily spout off some obscenities like Mel Gibson did. I honestly don't think this would happen, but I do feel like there is some racist programming in the locked unknown portion of my head.
Gladwell does a great job of convincing the listener that we all have the power to think without thinking - easily the strength of this book. This power can serve us well, but at times it can also fail us. Typically the power is consistent in either success or failure. While listening to the book I was constantly thinking to myself that I couldn't wait for him to help me develop this power. Unfortunately, this never happens. I burned 7 discs to help me listen in the car, and when I had finished the 5th disc I pretty much figured out that he was never going to openly reveal how to develop this power. Part of this is my own fault, because I had made up my own title for the book thinking it was Blink: Developing Your Ability to Think Without Thinking. This is a hard thought to change when you don't have the book sitting in front of you. The weakness of the book is definitely this lack of a desired formula. In all fairness though, he never promised this and we all want the easy answers. And for anyone thinking about checking this book out consider this: You can still glean from the book how to do this. I was able to search my head for some really solid applications from all the material. The only problem with that was that I had to think about thinking to get it.
4 comments:
I think I've read and discussed with several people this very topic. Other possible names for it is hunch, intuition, and sixth sense.
What most who talk about the subject agree upon is that this is a higher functioning than straight logic.
Some philosophers and physicists postulate that information exists "out there" and we can pick it up like tuning a radio. When you get the chance, Google the phrase "Remote Viewing."
I haven't read Blink, but I did read Gladwell's other book, The Tipping Point a couple of months ago. He's got a good writing style that pulls seemingly unrelated things into a context that's pretty profound.
I have yet to get into books on tape/CD/mp3, which is kind of strange considering how much I listen to people talk on NPR everyday in the car. Perhaps I just like having the convenience of skimming over a section when a book gets a little dull.
As far as racism being trapped in your head, I think we all have prejudices that lay suppressed and hidden in the recesses of our minds.
Anywho, I'll have to give this book a read sometime. Thanks for the recommendation.
Swany,
Wht was your take on Tipping Point? Is it worth a read?
After I reading The Tipping Point, I had a whole new appreciation of my wife's field of study back in college. She's a sociologist by training, and although I think it's a fascinating area, I never really could grasp how one could actually make a living doing this other than becoming a professor. In fact, this book seems to indirectly outline a whole field of sociological economics just waiting to be tapped.
The book kind of delves into the subtle reasons why some trends catch on and others do not, and how different people have inherent social skills that influence these things. One of my favorite parts of the book breaks down how simple shows like Blue's Clues or Dora the Explorer are frustratingly repetitive for an adult, but pure gold for a toddler, and why Sesame Street isn't as addictive. There's a reason why they rerun a show of Dora multiple times a week that has more to do with child development and less to do with trying to milk more dollars out of each episode. It's a pretty neat description of how TV markets to children, and that's just one chapter of the book.
Anywho, I'd recommend giving it a read (or a listen, in your case).
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