Analysis Of Blink The Power Of Thinking Without Thinking

To most people the blink of an eye is a very short span of time. Most people would not believe, however, that critical information can be gathered and a conclusion made in the blink of an eye. In Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell proves that split second decisions or what some call “gut decisions” can be just as reliable if not more reliable than drawn out, researched conclusions. Gladwell believes that this book will revolutionize the thought process and the world, he proves this by using exemplification and compare and contrast.

Gladwell uses a wide variety of different examples that range from marriages to Law enforcement and everywhere in between. He seeks to revolutionize the way we attack problems

However this really is not the case. John Gottman, a marital expert and thin slicing guru, says that “he can be in a restaurant and eavesdrop on the couple and get a pretty good sense..”(32) about their relationship and whether on not they will stay together. This is obviously contrary to what most people would believe and this example highlights this contrast. Gottman is not a mind reader on lucky, he has developed a system in which he trusts his instincts and in a short time he can reach an accurate conclusion. To be a good police officer you have to be able to make split second decisions; these decisions can be the difference between life and death. This was the case for one Officer Gladwell interviewed. “... the barrel never came up, and something in my mind just told me I didn’t have to shoot.”(241) This

The majority of chapter four is Gladwell explaining the advanced strategies of the U.S. military and their battle preparation as their thought processes and their dependence on information gathering. This is then contrasted by Commander Van Riper’s “... be in command and out of control mentality”(118). Van Riper believes that letting the people he put in charge take care of their issues will allow them to make better decisions without being dependent, in other words he wants minimal control over the smaller squads. This is opposed to the U.S. Military’s policy of always being in contact and in control. Van Riper’s ability to make split second decisions and to trust his gut led him to an overwhelming victory over the U.S. in a battle simulation. Showing once more that Gladwell’s proposed form of decision making is more efficient and dependable than that of one of the most information dependent organization in the world. When it comes to the commercial world, companies depend heavily on consumer reviews, however the company can misunderstand where the disconnect is between the product and the consumer. In the case of Margarine, most people in the 1940’s had a negative view of it and always prefered butter. And in taste tests this proved true, however when the color of margarine was changed to yellow, renamed “Imperial Margarine” and