Malcolm Gladwell – Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

Format: Paperback

Summary: Book about how we make judgments and decisions in the blink of an eye.

My opinion: This is one of my all-time favourite books.  I first read it when it came out in 2006 and have reread it several times since.  The premise is that our brains have the ability to process information at a speed we can’t really comprehend, allowing us to make snap decisions or judgments and how we should often trust those thoughts because they are made up of all the experiences we’ve had over many years.  Using examples of art historians who ‘just knew’ that a piece was a fake and a baseball coach who ‘just knew’ when a player was going to strike out amongst others, Gladwell puts forward a compelling argument that expands our understanding of intuition and snap judgments.  He also addresses the downsides – how discrimination and prejudice as learned from childhood and beyond, also leads us to make snap judgments that perpetuate inequality, along with what you can do to change that.

Who this book will appeal to:  Anyone who is interested in understanding more about your mind, decision making, intuition and/or improving your ability to work with your brain rather than against it.

Who should avoid this book:  Anyone who prefers to believe that ‘just knowing’ is only ever a magical skill based on connections to a higher power.