Have you ever felt over-whelmed by information? Information that may be useful, however there is so much of it that it feels as though you have to sift through a mountain? According to Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Blink, there is a cure. You need to “thin-slice”. The human mind is capable of making complex decisions instantaneously just by briefly skimming all the information collected especially when it comes to assessing the mental state or emotions of another person. However, even with this remarkable ability, there is a catch. Our thin slicing abilities are locked away in our unconscious. This means we cannot access them deliberately and leaves us unsure of how it actually helped in our decision making or how educated our unconscious is. Blink uses cognitive …show more content…
He then begins showing how snap judgments can be just as accurate as more deliberate methods of decision making. He transitions into how our snap decisions can fool us and then closes with the last few chapters of the book by demonstrating how we can train our minds to make more efficient blink of an eye decisions and utilize this as a tool in our decision making process.
Gladwell begins with a brief example to illustrate how our mind makes decisions, even though almost instantaneously, about people, problems, and objects which are generally the most accurate. He uses a story that happened in 1983 at the J. Paul Getty Museum. During this time the museum was young in comparison to other museums and were eager to get credible exhibits to develop a more superior standing within the museum community. The Getty had acquired a particular type of statue, called a kouros, from a dealer looking to sell one that was nearly perfect. One fact particularly that was over-looked was that most of these statues that were either found or received from someone else were very rarely intact let alone in perfect condition. An
In earlier eras, philosophers have strove to think of efficient, faster ways to approach every day matters. In Schulz’s essay she brings up the point that our mind “despite of its aptitude for error-it works better than anything else” (365). Our brains have evolved over time to a way of ease and correctness even though the risk is still run of being predisposed to error. She brought up the philosopher Descartes and how he wanted to be an “ideal thinker.” This involves approaching every manner with a neutral mind and be active in finding evidence that both supports and counters a claim. It also means accepting and even altering a conclusion that was previously made. Foer on the other hand, makes the claim that our society’s ability to remember has slowly dwindled by means of outsourcing of ourselves. “Today, when we live in a deluge of printed words” we have no need to remember everything when we have tools that do it for us (164). We have phones that remember people’s names, addresses, and phone numbers. We have GPS systems that make remembering routes a thing of the
Malcolm Gladwell, in order to make his argument seem credible, utilizes specific writing techniques. Gladwell frequently uses anecdotes about successful individuals as examples to further strengthen his argument. Gladwell write that, “One warm, spring day in May of 2007, the Medicine Hat Tigers and the Vancouver Giants met for the Memorial Cup hockey championships in Vancouver, British Columbia” (Gladwell 15). Frequently, Gladwell starts each chapter with a story about an individual group. These stories showcase the events and lives of successful people and are followed by Gladwell’s analysis of their success. By using specific, descriptive anecdotes, Gladwell is proving the credibility of his argument. Instead of just reciting his analysis,
Snap judgements are those immediate conclusions we make when we meet someone for the first time or experience something new or different. Many of us make snap judgements every single day of our lives without even being conscious of it. In fact, it only takes us a couple seconds to decide whether we like something or not. Snap judgements are a mental process we all do unconsciously. According to our class reading “Blink” by Malcom Gladwell, Gladwell states that most of us have experienced snap judgments, but we feel like we should not trust it. Snap judgements are not always precise but Gladwell believes we should ignore these odds and trust our snap judgements.
Malcom Gladwell, is an author of numerous New York Times Best Sellers, who uses several techniques in his writing to clarify and support his argument. Gladwell’s techniques are using stories to appeal to the reader’s emotions. Using scientific facts and research to logically strengthen his argument. Also, writing about controversial issues to establish credibility with the readers. These techniques are found in “Offensive Play”, “Small Change”, and “Harlan, Kentucky”, works by Gladwell.
Nowadays, snap judgment can be more authentic than the considered one. In the book named Blink, Malcolm Gladwell provides several examples of what he calls “thin-slicing,” which is using the minimal information to make a quick conclusion or judgment about certain situations or people’s characteristics. In the introduction of the book, Gladwell gives an example of J. Paul Getty Museum’s purchase of a sculpture, which later turns out to be a forgery. The museum buys the Kouros after 14 months on investing; however, after displaying the statue, experts express the abnormal of it and later find out that the sculpture is fake. In addition, the author introduces the idea of “thin-slicing” by mentioning the experiments that psychologist John Gottman
The central message the author is trying to convey is that the rapid scanning of information we do on the internet negatively effects our intelligence. Also he would like everyone to be aware he is writing a book that you can buy.
The famous Milgram experiment focused on the conflict between blind obedience to authority and personal conscience. It turned out that 65% of ordinary people blindly follow orders given by an authority figure, and only 30% are able to follow their personal conscience (McLeod). Considering that the vast majority acquire blind obedience to authority just in the process of nurturing, imagine what would it be like if blind obedience is built into one’s nature? In the novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley illustrates ways in which government and advanced science control society by conditioning embryos to blindly follow desirable social norms. Every conditioned individual would have merited instincts
This novel can easily be compared to the topics I’ve learned about in class. Topics covered in the classroom are the importance of thinking critically about things in day-to-day life. Levitt’s and Dubner’s book is an excellent example of the things that can be produced from thinking critically about the world around us. Being a critical thinker aids people in making intelligent and educated decisions.
He says that it is harder for him to doubt something deliberate, and the idea that he can have opportunities that are up to him to decide that fate of an outcome. He goes on to say that we must be wiser with our principles and start adjusting our theories to our data and avoid tailoring our data to our theories.
Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink explores the subconscious phenomenon “thin-slicing” and its manifestations in everyday life. “Thin-slicing” refers to the latent processes the brain executes, modeled from past experiences, which determine patterns in situations or behaviors. Gladwell expands upon this when he refers to “snap decisions” and “rapid cognition”, using the two terms interchangeably, as very quick “thin-slicing”. All three of these processes derive from neurological automaticity, which arises from repeat exposure to similar stimuli.
Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule tells his readers that they are more likely to become successful by accomplishing 10,000 hours of practice with whatever they wish to be successful in. He starts off using an example with a group of violin players. The violin players that achieved the closest to 10,000 hours of practice were the more advanced musicians in the program compared to the other groups that did not practice as much. This would be an example of an effective logical appeal because of the clear contrast shown between the groups w...
Technology has had a negative impact on this generation- we have lost and forgotten many things because of it. In Malcolm Gladwell’s “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted”, he discusses the difference between social media activism and “real” activism and the loss of human connection that he has identified. He believes that with social media activism, we lack the connections a community should have because we don’t get together in person- we are satisfied with being connected through technology. He also thinks that as time goes on, we will only get worse when referring to the ideas that we are delusional because the issues we fight about (such as getting phones taken away) aren’t as important as we think.
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 brings forth many critical messages about the importance of independent thought that are valuable to any reader. Currently, Fahrenheit 451 is, on average, read in high school freshmen or sophomore English classes. The messages it presents have the capability to completely change a person 's outlook on how they construct their opinions and make decisions about the world around them. However, in order for the book 's underlying messages to be understood and applied to a student 's life it must be read in early college or late high school english classes.
Green drags the reader right into the text from the very beginning, and very skilfully keeps the reader engaged to the end of the introduction. With varied techniques to convey his message, Green is able to summarize the novel and grab attention in the few opening pages.
If life were merely a contest with fate, then should we not think before we act? Though some may argue that the proper time to reflect is before acting, I have learned from experience that, more times than not, this is not the best approach. The ability to act on instinct is crucial to success, in many situations. During an earthquake, for instance, one must quickly respond in whichever way necessary to protect themselves, as well as their loved ones. No matter how prepared, or trained, one may be, there is no way to predict what the essential motions should be taken at the time of an emergency.