Premium Essay

Blink: the Power of Thinking Without Thinking

In:

Submitted By hatcherj21
Words 757
Pages 4
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking is a book written by Malcolm Gladwell. This book introduces the concept of “thin slicing”. The concept refers to how in a split second or blink of an eye people can make an unconscious and accurate assessment of someone. Using the concept of thin slicing we can determine what is really important within the first few seconds when meeting someone. Malcolm Gladwell explained that first impressions or spontaneous decisions can be just as important as decisions that are made carefully and planned out. According to Gladwell, people make better decisions with quick judgments than they do with a lot of analysis. Gladwell believes that the power of thin slicing is not just something certain gifted people can do, it is something that everyone has the ability do. Gladwell also explains that our first decisions or first impressions can be easily corrupted by our likes, dislikes, prejudices, and stereotypes. We are thin slicing all the time according to Gladwell. Throughout the book Gladwell gives us many examples and experiments that support his concept of “thin Slicing”. Some of these examples include; predicting divorce, speed dating, gambling, malpractice suits, movies, military war games, and music.
One of the important things that I have learned from reading this book is how important the process of decision making can be as a leader in business. As a business leader making decisions can make or break a business. Making the right decision should involve experience, training and knowledge. Making the right decisions does not always mean that we have to spend hours trying to analyze data. In his book Gladwell describes the “dark side of blink” as the tendency in which our first impression can be influenced by our prejudices and stereotypes. To make good

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Blink - the Power of Thinking Without Thinking

...ALSO BY MALCOLM GLADWELL The Tipping Point To my parents, Joyce and Graham Gladwell Introduction The Statue That Didn’t Look Right In September of 1983, an art dealer by the name of Gianfranco Becchina approached the J. Paul Getty Museum in California. He had in his possession, he said, a marble statue dating from the sixth century BC. It was what is known as a kouros—a sculpture of a nude male youth standing with his left leg forward and his arms at his sides. There are only about two hundred kouroi in existence, and most have been recovered badly damaged or in fragments from grave sites or archeological digs. But this one was almost perfectly preserved. It stood close to seven feet tall. It had a kind of light-colored glow that set it apart from other ancient works. It was an extraordinary find. Becchina’s asking price was just under $10 million. The Getty moved cautiously. It took the kouros on loan and began a thorough investigation. Was the statue consistent with other known kouroi? The answer appeared to be yes. The style of the sculpture seemed reminiscent of the Anavyssos kouros in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, meaning that it seemed to fit with a particular time and place. Where and when had the statue been found? No one knew precisely, but Becchina gave the Getty’s legal department a sheaf of documents relating to its more recent history. The kouros, the records stated, had been in the private collection of a Swiss physician named Lauffenberger...

Words: 74585 - Pages: 299

Premium Essay

Blink Malcolm Gladwell Analysis

...Eating, drinking, breathing and especially thinking are actions we perform in our daily life without actually noticing the effort put forth. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell, explains exactly how the subconscious mind works to the average audience. Despite the difficulty level in explaining the mind’s magic, Gladwell uses multiple experiments that demonstrate the power of impressions and other psychological occurrences to guide the audience through the nonfiction piece. The author helped altered my viewpoint on the decisions I take and also kept me engaged throughout. It is quite devastating when I second guess my decisions but end up being correct the first time. Because of Blink, I changed the doubt I once...

Words: 569 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Eq+Pq>Iq

...Lloyd 1 Strider Lloyd Dr. Natoli PPD 545 February 23, 2016 Word Count: 1857 EQ + PQ > IQ Currently, the study of human behavior in public organizations is shifting in focus away from the traditional intelligence quotient (IQ), towards the more progressive combination of the emotional quotient (EQ) and passion quotient (PQ) (Ted Talks Psychology, 2013). Although the traditional argument that the IQ of an organization is the most important factor in organizational success, is compelling, contemporary thought posits that EQ and PQ, in combination, are better for evaluating success than IQ. This developing context will be used to support the argument that leadership in public organizations is an interactive phenomenon; it results from the interdependent relationship between self-identity, sensemaking, and ultimately decisionmaking—all of which work in congruence to define the organization culture, form attitudes, direct behavior, and determine the organization’s level of success. In order to elaborate on the interactive phenomenon that argues that the emotional quotient (EQ), plus the passion quotient (PQ), are greater—or have more causative value—than the intelligence quotient (IQ). First, in terms of definitions, the EQ is a way to measure how a person identifies emotions within himself or herself and others, and manages these emotional states to work more efficiently and effectively within an organization (Ben-Zeʼev, 2000, pp. 166167). Next, the PQ, as described...

Words: 1922 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Blink Greek Gladwell Analysis

...Malcolm Gladwell’s famous novel, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, opens up a new idea of how first impressions truly have a major impact within our minds. Gladwell is not only a well known best selling author, having all five of his books on New York times best selling list, but also a respectable journalist. Gladwell introduces his idea of “thin-slicing” through situations with both good and bad outcomes. “Thin-Slicing” is the idea that humans are able to make accurate judgments based on solely a “thin slice” of knowledge. Gladwell’s notion supports humans can make decisions with merely a blink of an eye and be accurate. These snap decisions are made unconsciously. Throughout his book, Gladwell shows that “thin-slicing” is the...

Words: 685 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Suggested Reading

...Suggested Reading List This section wouldn’t be complete without a list of some great books to read. Reading about reading and answering test questions is fine, but the best way to improve your reading ability is to read.This list is compiled by category.Help yourself. Choose one from the list, pick it up at a local bookstore or library, open the cover, and enjoy. Autobiography/Memoir Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X Black Boy by Richard Wright The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank Having Our Say by Sarah L. and Elizabeth Delany The Heroic Slave by Frederick Douglass I Know Why the Caged Birds Sing by Maya Angelou Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi Coming of Age The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros A Separate Peace by John Knowles Detective/Thriller Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries The “A is for…” series by Sue Grafton The Client by John Grisham Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Shining by Stephen King Watcher by Dean R. Koontz Fantasy The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony Any Harry Potter book by J.K. Rowling Historical/Social Issues The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel The Color Purple by Alice Walker The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The Lord of the Flies by William Golding ...

Words: 713 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Blink Essay

...Cecilia Abate English 114 10/6/10 Blink: A Brush With Subconscious Cognitive Reflexes Truth is often a difficult thing to discern. There is a common assumption that moving too fast and not thinking decisions through will result in a product of weak clarity and perhaps also weak quality. As a society, we encourage our loved ones to think things through, reconsider, and “sleep on” information in order to weigh all the possibilities and come to the best possible conclusion. However, Gladwell, the author of Blink, suggests differently. In direct contrast to what most of us have been told, he pushes us towards quick thinking as a profitable and easy option – to pay attention to one's subconscious is to harness the power of thoughts you did not know you were having. If you pay attention to your “gut feeling”, your decisions will take less time and may be more accurate. This is exactly the idea of thin slicing, a concept that many of us utilize in our daily lives. I have had a handful of situations where I immediately noticed and decided upon something, then thought it through and came to a completely different answer with what I thought was logical and sensible reasoning. This is exactly what Gladwall is arguing against-- he says that we should lean towards trusting our snap judgements. Once in tune with this concept, I realized that I use this tool already-- with friends, judging couples, for instance, or comparing people I barely knew and making assumptions based off what I...

Words: 936 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Summary Of Blink By Malcolm Gladwell

...Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, written by Malcolm Gladwell is about first impressions and snap judgments. Gladwell has three main objectives in this book: “to convince you that “decisions made very quickly can be every bit as good as decisions made cautiously and deliberately,” “to learn when to listen to that powerful onboard computer and when to be wary of it,” and “to convince you that our snap judgments and first impressions can be educated and controlled.” Gladwell starts off with the story of a kouros, an ancient Greek statue that was close to being purchased by the Getty Museum in California. After 14 months of in depth research to verify the authenticity of the statue, the Getty determined that it was authentic and went ahead with the purchase. That was until one...

Words: 1115 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Blink

..."In the first two seconds of looking –in a single glance – they were able to understand more about the essence of the statue than the team at the Getty was able to understand after fourteen months . . . Blink is a book about those first two seconds." Gladwell begins his introduction with the story of a kouros – an ancient Greek sculpture of a young naked male – that was acquired by the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1983. Kouroi are very rare. As a result this particular kouros was being sold for $10 million. Because of the hefty price tag, the Getty Museum was very careful when testing to see if the kouros was a forgery. However, after 14 months of analysis, the Getty determined that the kouros was in fact real, and bought the statue. Many scholars did not agree that the kouros was real. To them, something about the statue didn’t look right. When Thomas Hoving, the former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, looked at the statue the first word that came to his mind was “fresh”. When Angelos Delivorrias, director of the Benaki Museum in Athens, first laid eyes upon the statue he felt a wave of immediate disgust. For a long time the validity of the kouros was hotly debated. Finally, the Getty’s case began to fall apart. As it turned out, a lot of the documents used to prove the statue’s authenticity were forged. Also, as experts began to examine the statue in great detail, they came to the realization that it used a hodgepodge of styles from many different places...

Words: 6053 - Pages: 25

Premium Essay

Greek Mythology: The Role Of Women In Greek Society

...women in society. Women hold most of the power, although it is not very obvious. Also, women have to be beautiful in order to be accepted into Greek society. Finally, women are supposed to be obedient in Greek society. Women hold most of the power in Greek society. In the myth the Trojan War, Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite find a golden apple labeled “to the fairest.” They all believe the apple is for themselves, so they go to Paris of Troy to decide. All three goddesses offer something to Paris. Paris chooses Aphrodite, who offers the most beautiful woman in the world. Women played a huge role in starting the Trojan War. It was the goddesses who went to Paris and it was a woman that Paris was after. Women have to be beautiful in order to be accepted in Greek society. For example, in the myth Perseus, Medusa is turned into a Gorgon, “each with wings, and snaky hair, most horrible to mortals." Medusa is shunned by society because she looks like a horrible monster. Perseus is told to go slay Medusa because she isn't beautiful and because she is a monster....

Words: 405 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Everest Simulation

...Lessons learnt from simulation We as a team performed well as an individual doing their task. This was because team was prepared and understood their own profile very well and 50% of other’s profiles. However, where we failed as a team was to collaborate. We moved from Forming Storming Norming during the prep time, medical challenge and weather challenge respectively, however during oxygen challenge we went back to the Storming stage [Jurgens (Director) (2015, July 12)]. This could be partly attributed to the fact that we had some technical difficulties with remote connections, shortcoming to our psychological safety and communication issues. My profile was that of a ‘leader.’ My main goal was to steer the team to move towards the summit point. As the book by Gladwell (2005) suggests there are at-least seven things that need to wrong, in-order to experience a fatal crash, I did live this on the day of simulation assignment. It was my travel day at work I was working from hotel where the internet connection was bad. As a result, I missed some of the key portions discussed prior to the simulation task. My mind was in panic mode and with constant fear of failure of this exercise. It could cost me some points from my grade [Edmondson & Roloff (2009)].Once I overcame the connectivity issue, I began to actively participate. During the initial 15 min time frame, when we as a team were sharing each other’s profile information and goals, our “observer” asked the group...

Words: 751 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Conquering Waves with Aloha Boardsports

...BIBLIOGRAPHY A. Books Aquino. (2000). Methods of research and thesis writing. Manila: Vibal Publishing House, Inc. Baysa, Gloria T., Fua-Geronimo, Ellinor C. & Salvador, Samuel M. (2008) Fundamentals of business research: Thesis writing. Allen Adrian Books Inc. Gladwell, M. (2005) Blink: The power of thinking without thinking. Back Bay Books / Little, Brown and Company. Webster, William (2001) The new international webster’s pocket dictionary. Trident Press International Webster, William (2001) The new international webster’s pocket business dictionary. Trident Press International Heizer, J. & Render, B. (2006) An introduction to operations management (8th Edition). Pearson Education South Asia PTE LTD. B. Magazine Chasing perfection. (2007, November). Surfer magazine. C. Unpublished Materials Alcantara, M. M., Bongdad, M. D. S., Cabigao, A. R. S., Logmao, B. G. A. & Ramas, R. R. (2008) A slice of happiness with greenwich pizza. Unpublished undergraduate thesis, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila Babilonia, E. M. III, Caliguiran, D. M. M., Castillo, K. B. S., Cipres, A. C. C. & Romblon, M. K. A. (2008) competitive aces of beach resorts in Sariaya, Quezon. Unpublished undergraduate thesis, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila Enteria, J. N., Mellorin, G. C., Natura , L. K. Z., Pineda, C. V. & Ponce, A. M. M. (2008) Cleanest smile from the cleanest city: The dental service industry in Marikina City. Unpublished...

Words: 688 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Philosophical Me

...People say that an empty mind is a devil's workshop. For all that I know, my mind has been the home to Mr. Devil from the past couple of days - with an absolutely empty mind on thinking what’s my passion! Staring down the computer screen, I could only muster enough courage to chalk down the topic after spending hours of deliberating and I finally decided to write on 3 things/personalities that have had a considerable impact on me so far in my life. As I started writing, I realized that I did not have a single most strikingly variant passion that I could have written about. I am not a voracious book reader - There was always so much to read throughout my college, I could never have imagined I could go beyond reading a couple of books - and I did over-achieve my Goal. I read Dan Browns Angels & Demons, Khaled Hosseini's Kite Runner and Chetan Bhagat's A night at the call center I am not an artist - The only art I know is the Hindi translation of the number 8 I am not a singer - Unless we want to attract even animals to read the blog, I do not think I should sing I am not a dancer - Except for shamelessly dancing at the office events, I use my legs only for walking or sometimes running As I pen down the things I wanted to talk about myself, I realized that my passion is not a single bullet point that I could have written about. For me, my passion is continuous drive of learning to live, pursuing my dreams, getting inspired by my role models, facing most pressing...

Words: 1072 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

American Dream

...ISU Critical Essay – Short Essay Option Our second mind is not as simple as it seems. Blink is a behavioral economics book written in 2005 by British-Canadian Journalist Malcolm Gladwell, focusing on our ability to ‘’Thin Slice’’. He explains through this ability we are able to determine what is truly important from a narrow experience, suggesting our spontaneous decisions are often better than the ones we consider. Using several engaging examples, he warns however that this ability of ours is challenged by personal likes, dislikes and overload of information, and is in our best interest to train our first impression to understand this reality through experience. The lack of scientific research in Blink also suggests that it is anecdotal, but Gladwell accepts this reality himself and thoroughly explains every point he makes in regards to this single flaw. Drawing scenarios that practice this rapid cognition from science, advertising, medicine and many others, he is also able to directly engage the reader’s subconscious by random screening and thought provocation. Malcolm Gladwell’s theory brings awareness to the power of our unconscious decision-making and proposes various strategies that offer a solution to its fallacy, maintaining his veracity in the research presented despite the lack of scientific method. Malcolm Gladwell’s theory brings awareness to the power of our unconscious decision-making. Decisions made quickly can be every bit as good as decisions made cautiously...

Words: 2501 - Pages: 11

Free Essay

Music Identity

...Mark Izquierdo Tim Melnarik English 1A March 21, 2016 Music Identity Music is a form of art that has been around since the dawn of man. It touches our inner soul without psychically feeling its presence. Without music, the world would be dull and dreary. Music is one of the most expressionistic forms of media known to society. It sometimes gives you the extra push for moments of inspiration and self-confidence. It helps express our feelings, and assist us to get through moments of sorrow. It also unshackles us from reality, and takes us into a euphoric state of mind where our problems become inexistent. Music can quickly change the mood into a romantic setting, or can completely change it into a blissful dance affair. It’s a bridge that connects our inner self with the outside world. Even though music can be portrayed as a form of art and entertainment it can also posses a much greater force that some tend to belittle. Music plays a vital role in pop culture, and has the clout of shaping ones identity. The development of self-identity is a vigorous process in both internal and external interfaces. One’s self-image is something that is crucial growing up, and our choice of musical preference inclines to influence that journey dramatically. To begin with, the personality trait that we all develop is a primary example of an internal type of self-image interface. As we grow older, we tend to be exposed to different types of music that influence our personality, and it tends...

Words: 1624 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Organizational Behaviour Paper

...SubjectCode-B105 Organizational Behaviour Part A:- Multiple Choice 1. Which of the following is not comes under Maslow‟s needs theory? Answer : D. Specification needs 2. Collegial model is an extension of: Answer: None of these 3. Sigmund Freud‟s theory on personality is: Answer: Moral values 4. A person who moves fast, talk rapidly, usually impatient, measures success by quantity is a person of: Answer: Class A Personality type 5. According to Maslow‟s need hierarchy theory esteem need comes at________ position from bottom: Answer: At 4th position 6. Informal communication is also called: Answer Grapevine 7. Needs related to hunger, thirst, sleep etc. are considered as: Answer: Physiological needs 8. Horizontal expansion of a job that involves the addition of tasks at same level of skills: Answer: Job Enlargement 9. Path goal theory of leadership is developed by: Answer: Robert house 10. Potential or ability to influence others in a delivered direction is called: Answer: Leadership Part 2 1. Define Bureaucracy. A bureaucracy is a system of organization noted for its size and complexity. Everything within a bureaucracy — responsibilities, jobs, and assignments — exists to achieve some goal. Bureaucracies are found at the federal, state, county, and municipal levels of government, and even large private corporations may be bureaucratically organized. People who work for government agencies, from...

Words: 3870 - Pages: 16