Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking |
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| Title: | Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking |
| Author: | Malcolm Gladwell |
| Publisher: | Back Bay Books |
| Type: | Book / Paperback |
| Publication Date: | 03 April, 2007 |
| ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0316010669 / 9780316010665 |
| List Price: | $15.99 |
| You Save: | $5.12 |
| Amazon Price: | $10.87 |
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This book is also available, brand-new, from 3rd-party marketplace sellers at Amazon.com, from $8.00.
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Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
In his #1 bestseller The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell redefined how we understand the world around us. In BLINK, he revolutionizes the way we understand the world within. How do we make decisions--good and bad--and why are some people so much better at it than others? That's the question Malcolm Gladwell asks and answers in BLINK. Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology, examining case studies as diverse as speed dating, pop music, and the New Coke, Gladwell shows how the difference between good decision making and bad has nothing to do with how much information we can process quickly, but rather with the few particular details on which we focus. BLINK displays all of the brilliance that has made Malcolm Gladwell's journalism so popular and his books such perennial bestsellers as it reveals how all of us can become better decision makers--in our homes, our offices, and in everyday life.
Amazon.com Review
Blink is about the first two seconds of looking--the decisive glance that knows in an instant. Gladwell, the best-selling author of The Tipping Point, campaigns for snap judgments and mind reading with a gift for translating research into splendid storytelling. Building his case with scenes from a marriage, heart attack triage, speed dating, choking on the golf course, selling cars, and military maneuvers, he persuades readers to think small and focus on the meaning of "thin slices" of behavior. The key is to rely on our "adaptive unconscious"--a 24/7 mental valet--that provides us with instant and sophisticated information to warn of danger, read a stranger, or react to a new idea. Gladwell includes caveats about leaping to conclusions: marketers can manipulate our first impressions, high arousal moments make us "mind blind," focusing on the wrong cue leaves us vulnerable to "the Warren Harding Effect" (i.e., voting for a handsome but hapless president). In a provocative chapter that exposes the "dark side of blink," he illuminates the failure of rapid cognition in the tragic stakeout and murder of Amadou Diallo in the Bronx. He underlines studies about autism, facial reading and cardio uptick to urge training that enhances high-stakes decision-making. In this brilliant, cage-rattling book, one can only wish for a thicker slice of Gladwell's ideas about what Blink Camp might look like. --Barbara Mackoff
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Customer Reviews:
• Excellent Survey Of Social Psychology
15 July, 2010
I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in social psychological phenomena. My personal favorite study was the one done by Paul Ekman where Ekman demonstrated the universality of people's facial expressions. An excellent follow-up to this book is Social Intelligence by Daniel Goleman. Goleman gets more into the mechanics of the snap decisions people make.
- Amazon Customer Review
• Gripping!
19 July, 2010
"This was a gift from my employer... a signed copy from Malcolm Gladwell ! An amazingly gripping book. Couldn't put it down!
The book tells about the power of subconscious, the power and dangers of decisions that we take in a blink. I was always amazed by the current behavior of the cops in the US and why two cops don't ride together when they have to wait for a cover anyway! This book provides answers to many questions of the subconscious and poses many more which remain unanswered! Where to use the power of blink and where not! Just like the Inception !!!" . The only reason I am taking one point off is because it left me confused.
- Amazon Customer Review
• Loved The Concept!
02 July, 2010
I really enjoy Malcolm Gladwell's scientific curiousity in trying to explain why our brains work the way they do. I listened to the audio version of the book and it was narrated by the author himself. Having him read his words felt like we were somewhere having a cup of coffee and he was telling me his ideas. I really like the way this guy's brain works. I have the same curiousity about things and I appreciate that Gladwell can articulate these interesting facts so well.
- Amazon Customer Review
• An Enjoyable, Thought-provoking And Interesting Read
14 July, 2010
Blink is an interesting read, that I think many readers will find enjoyable.
The writing style is enjoyable, and easy enough to read. I would describe the style as "story-telling" in quality, which I find to be engaging and enjoyable. Some readers may find that Gladwell's tendency to branch out into tangents of thought makes it harder to read, and more difficult to draw conclusions from or to figure out what conclusion Gladwell himself has come to on specific points. It could also be argued that Blink isn't scientific enough to be worthy of serious attention. I am not, convinced, however, that Gladwell was trying to put forth a scientific research paper. It is certainly not written in a formal and scientific tone, it has no bibliography, and is not riddled with footnotes (the presence of which would be more indicative of a scientific paper). As mentioned, it has a story-telling quality to it, which I prefer and enjoyed.
Gladwell provides relevant and interesting notes for each chapter, at the end of the book. For people inspired to explore the subject matters of each chapter further, these notes may prove to provide useful starting points, citing relevant papers, books, studies, researchers, and so forth.
I would not recommend this book to people only interested in and stimulated by hard-science, and empirical facts. Many of the stories Gladwell uses to illustrate his points could be considered anecdotal at best, and completely insubstantial at worse, by those with a mind that is critical of anything that isn't a "well proven fact." For the rest of us, however, and particularly people who like interesting ideas, lateral thinking, stimulating considerations, and open-ended explorations of possibility, this book is bound to be a joyful read. Even more so if you have an open interest in the human mind, what makes us tick, and (potentially) how you make the decisions you make - decisions that have a very real impact on our life.
Some people, however, may argue that Gladwell branches out too laterally, drawing on too many less than perfect arguments to make his point, and thus proving nothing. I disagree. I will say, however, that I am often quick to understand a point, and Gladwell is sometimes slow--some would say "thorough"-- in making them. This could frustrate some people, and there were times I wanted Gladwell to be more concise. Ultimately, however, I found the story-like quality engaging and interesting enough that I only rarely felt like pushing on to the next chapter.
You may or may not come to the same conclusions as the author. From what I can gather the crux of Gladwell's exploration is that, 1) we typically take a lot from the first 2 couple seconds of a situation or encounter and base much of our decisions on this "blink"; 2) that this first impression can be immensely useful and accurate; 3) yet it can, however, be way off track because we are oftentimes unaware of what is influence our particular first impression of a situation or encounter; 4) thus, our capacity for accurate first impressions is a skill to be worked with, cultivated, and refined, in order to weed out unconscious issues that may be making our Blink-moment hazy.
Hard-core scientists aside, overall I think the majority of people will enjoy this book.
I gave it four stars, not five, because personally I would have preferred it to be a little snappier. Not that I wanted to read it in a Blink, but I did at times find Gladwell's arguments a little scattered and drawn out.
- Jonathan Evatt
International lecturer, spiritual mentor, natural health expert, and award-winning author of Peace, Power, and Presence: A guide to Self Empowerment, Inner Peace, and Spiritual Enlightenment
- Amazon Customer Review
• Great Collection Of Well Told Stories
14 July, 2010
Blink is about subconscious thinking and how it can lead us to accurate conclusions within the blink of a moment. It is also about how subconcious thinking sometimes also can lead us to wrong, irrational or discriminatory behaviour without us even being aware of it.
I read Outliers and now Blink. Gladwell's likes to tell anecdotes, most of the pages are small stories that can be linked to some scientific study. Gladwell knows how to choose interesting stories and how to tell them in a kind of feel-good colorful way. If that is your cup of tea, you will not be disappointed. Just remember, the guy is a journalist, he does best what journalists usually are best at, expect to be entertained or to find some thoughts worth further investigation.
- Amazon Customer Review
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