Blink

1. Blink Malcolm Gladwell

2. Major Themes of Blink • Psychology • How we make snap decisions • Thin-slicing “ ‘Thin-slicing’ refers to the ability of our unconscious to find patterns in situations and behavior based on very narrow slices of experience… Thin-slicing is part of what makes the unconscious so dazzling.” (Gladwell 23)

3. Chapters • Every chapter a different example of how we thin-slice material • Some topics covered: marriage, War strategy, police men, ancient Greek statues, tennis, speed-dating, etc.

4. Paul Van Riper’s Big Victory “How good people’s decisions are under the fast-moving, high-stress conditions of rapid cognition is a function of training and rules and rehearsal.” (Gladwell 114) • Van Riper was the “bad guy’s” general. • Did not have much information • Destroyed 16 ships and 20,000 men on the second morning

5. Day 2 Blue Team Red Team

6. Gladwell’s Portrayal of Military Culture “I asked, ‘Can I shoot down one V-twenty-two?’ and he said, “No… I’ve been given guidance by the program director.” (Gladwell 145) • He criticizes the military’s tactics in the Millennium Challenge • Also the way that they approached the whole situation • Praises Van Riper

7. The World We Live In “it seems that we would have to gather a lot of information… But John Gottman has proven that we don’t.” (Gladwell20) • People hate losing • People are arrogant • Excess amounts of information is not always useful

8. What I Learned • The brain is really powerful and quick • So is our subconscious • Superfluous information blinds our decisions • One can learn how to thin-slice and make good snap decisions “The power of knowing, in that first two seconds, is not a gift given magically to a fortunate few. It is an ability that we can all cultivate for ourselves.” (Gladwell 16)