In the blink of an eye we gather huge amounts of information. The author, Gladwell, likens our brains to giant computers capable of processing lots of data in a flash. I found it fascinating how we can use this information either for survival purposes and / or we can apply our intuitive knowledge to any given situation. The author coins the term "thin slicing" to explain the process of applying one's intuition. He states that we are often suspicious of trusting this intuition because it's so quick and easy, even when it's on target. He relays experiments where instantaneous "thin slicing" has amazing results, sometimes in life and death situations, but also explains what can cause the skillto fall short. The reason often being that we are not truly living in the present moment.

Two books that easily guide one into the present moment are Ariel and Shya Kane's "Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment" and "How To Create A Magical Relationship". These refreshingly fun and practical books effortlessly get the reader into the present moment where enlightenment resides. In an instant life can become brilliant and magical. Both of these intelligent books have shown me that life needn't be hard work in order to be amazing.

This is one of the most fascinating books I have read in some time. The book centers on the concept of how fast we really do make judgments, called "thin slicing", and how deeper analysis can sometimes provide less information than more. It is all about cognitive speed.

The concept of "thin slicing" is dissected and explained. What I found fascinating, and also common sense, is that we process information on a subconscious level, "behind the door", and process so holistically that to over analyze can actually hinder our ability to make decisions.

Several key points are applicable in business. One of the in depth studies looked at a military leader who was particularly successful. One of his more poignant observations was that a great leader needs to let the people do their work. When deciding how often to follow up "you are diverting them, now they are looking upward instead of downward. You are preventing them from resolving the situation". (Page 118) Further "allowing people to operate without having to explain themselves constantly ... enables rapid cognition" (Page 119). It seems that most micro-management actually prevents people from successful decision making.

Another strange phenomenon occurs when we try and explain how we come to some conclusions. It seems that the more we try to analyze how we come to some conclusions the less reliable they become.

The ability to absorb and detect minute changes in facial expressions allows us to essentially "read minds" if we pay attention. There are several chapters on how reliable we can be in predicting behavior with very little information.

Overall, this book is so well written that I had a hard time putting it down. My only compliant, and it is a minor one, is that the book just ends. No summary or wrap up, just "boom", it's over. However, that is more a testament to how engaging the book is I suppose. Highly recommended!

Blink is a " must read " about the power and accuracy of our first impressions and intuitions about people and events. Malcolm Gladwell skillfully presents several case studies that inspire me to recognize my own intuitive talent and also to notice my tendencies to dismiss my intuitive knowing in favor of analysis and self-doubt.
He cleverly examines stereotyping and predjudice, and demonstrates how this influences and distorts our intuition.
As a result of this book, I feel more confident and freer to express myself spontaneously! Tuning in to my first impressions is fun and actually gives me a greater sense of well-being and living in the moment, wow!
Another great source of well-being and Instantaneous Transformation is Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment by Ariel and Shya Kane. This lovely anthology gives me a window into living with ease and transforms everyday circumstances into life giving opportunities. I can experience enlightenment now! Without any complicated discipline, Guru, or hoops to jump through. Thanks to the Kanes and Gladwell for giving us modern day access to a truly satisfying life.

Malcolm Gladwell is one of the most brilliant non- fiction writers working today. He is a researcher and a thinker who looks into social phenomena and makes connections between diverse activities and areas of life in startling and interesting ways. While he is most known for the concept of ' the tipping point' I personally found his most remarkable essay to be on key figures in human social networks, and the way one individual may connect hundreds of even thousands different kinds of people together. In this present work which I have read the British edition of he writes about what he calls 'adaptive unconscious' about processes of mind and decision that determine much of our action in life. He opens with a consideration of the Getty Museum's considering the purchase of what seemed to be a great new discovery, a statue of a certain kind called a 'kourous. The Getty went to the greatest experts in scientifically evaluating the materials of the statue and they come up with it as genuine. However when the Getty showed the stature to people who live in the world of art history most of them instinctively recoiled from it. They made the kind of ' blink' split - second decision which bypassed their consciousness. They proved to be right. Gladwell goes on to consider ' thin- slicing' decision making in other areas, that is decision-making which is based on a very small set of experience. In his second chapter he looks at the work of a psychologist John Gottman who has developed a method of predicting whether a couple will eventually divorce through noting certain qualities revealed in a fifteen - minute conversation between them. Stonewalling, criticizing are two of the factors attended to but the key one is the degree of contempt one of the partners may have for another. But for Gladwell the focus is on understanding that it does not take a prolonged process of consciously investigating and collecting data but rather a quick- thin- slice evaluation to get to the truth of the situation. Gladwell investigates other kinds of situations in which in one case a firefighter, in another a Vietnam War veteran and Marine officer show a kind of instinctive ' right action' which would not be possible had they talked or thought too much at the wrong time and confused themselves in the process. Gladwell writes of very interesting characters , finds people of extraordinary abilities even when it comes to selling cars or tasting food. He centers on non- conventional figures who have in one way or another extraordinary gifts in ordinary life. In one chapter he looks at the diagnosis of heart- attacks in emergency room and shows how a method a researcher tried to push and had rejected for years has enabled quick, life- saving diagnosis. In this situation too he shows how too much information, too much conscious rehashing of data can interfere with a kind of quick- decision making a kind of ' in a blink' judgment. Here however it should be pointed out that Gladwell insists that in many areas of life it is only because there has been prior training, study, rehearsal that such wise- snap judgment is possible. All in all this is a richly informative and highly interesting work, a very pleasurable read.
It will take more than one blink to read, but it will be worth it.

In education, standardized tests have become a way of life. As a student, I happened to be very good at these types of multiple-choice tests. One reason I was good at these tests was that I realized something early on: my first instinct was almost always right. The few times I thought over an answer and decided to change it, I nearly always changed the right answer into a wrong one.

This experience came to me as I was reading Malcolm Gladwell's book, Blink. Essentially, this is a book about making snap judgements. As Mr. Gladwell points out, all of us are constantly making choices "in the blink of an eye." The question is, why are some people better at making these kind of snap judgements than others?

The answer, as Mr. Gladwell describes it, seems to be: preparation. All of us make our judgements based on our experience--experience that becomes so ingrained that we can become ultimately unaware of why we know what we know. I was a rigorous student, so I was prepared to make the right judgement on tests and I learned to trust that judgement. In his book, Mr. Gladwell describes a number of interesting instances of this: art critics who can instantly recognize fakes, tennis coaches who can predict a double fault before the serve is complete, the counselor who can tell which marriages will fail from listening to a couple converse with each other. He then goes on to describe research that can pick apart these situations and help us understand what in these persons' experience has given them these abilities.

But Mr. Gladwell is also aware that snap judgements can lead us into error. In Blink, he looks at some great failures of judgement like the Diallo shooting, the election of Warren G. Harding as U.S. President and the introduction of New Coke. What seems to set these events apart is that, whereas in the successful examples the judgements are made by individual experts in narrow fields, in the failures the settings are social ones where the decisions are made by groups. In these groups, cultural influences have colored our experiences and often in a negative, albeit unconsciously negative, way. The subtle associations of African-Americans with crime and charisma with success can lead us down the wrong paths in ways we may not even expect.

How, then, to successfully "thin-slice," as Mr. Gladwell calls it? Awareness. Once we become aware of our prejudices, we can mold our minds and sharpen our experiences. Then we will be better prepared to make choices. In this powerful book full of excellent examples and descriptions of current research, Mr. Gladwell has provided a step to that awareness. It is well worth reading.