Blink (2005) by Malcolm Gladwell


Blink (2005) by Malcolm Gladwell

This is an incredibly fascinating book that explores the power of “rapid cognition” - that split-second thought process that we go through unconsciously when we encounter anything. Gladwell lays-out several examples of how this type of thinking can be more reliable and accurate than we give it credit for, but also how it can feed unconscious biases into our decision-making. Equally impressive are the subtle ways our rapid cognition is influenced to process things differently (down to minutiae like how lemon-lime soda tastes more like lemon from a yellow bottle and more like lime from a green bottle).

I’ve always put a lot of stock in intuition (although Gladwell doesn’t like that term), and Blink has gone a long way to reinforce that trust. But it has also cautioned me about where to temper my rapid cognition with more calculated deliberation.

Ironically, it’s difficult to gather my thoughts on this book about thinking - but needless to say I’d recommend Blink to anyone with an interest in the way we process information. (Or if you’re just fascinated by little knowledge-bytes, like why most CEOs are tall, or how ugly chairs can dominate the office-furniture market.)

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