Howling out loud! » Blink http://wolfsongs.com Chronicles of an amateur Book Reviewer, or the voice of reason against the howling mob. Sun, 18 Jul 2010 21:37:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/ en hourly 1 Book Review – Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking http://wolfsongs.com/2009/10/book-review-blink-the-power-of-thinking-without-thinking-2/ http://wolfsongs.com/2009/10/book-review-blink-the-power-of-thinking-without-thinking-2/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:51:07 +0000 Alpha Wolf http://wolfsongs.com/?p=366 ‘Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking’ is a rather interesting book on how people often behave when faced with a decision without much time to think. The author, Malcolm Gladwell, persues different studies and situations to back up his theory of how people process information and make decisions.

When I first read this book I [...]]]> ‘Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking’ is a rather interesting book on how people often behave when faced with a decision without much time to think. The author, Malcolm Gladwell, persues different studies and situations to back up his theory of how people process information and make decisions.

When I first read this book I thought it was going to be an Occidental explanation for something that has been studied for centuries in the Orient. I thought it would be explaining the concept of Zen, or of knowing exactly what do to without thinking. However, it goes much more in depth than that. Zen as a concept is a way of training the body and mind so that normally voluntary movements become so practiced that they become almost involuntary. While that is discussed in the book, Mr. Gladwell also discusses people who have little or no training in a particular situation and how they behave when faced with a dilemma. Another aspect discussed is if people choose wiser given equal time and different levels of information. Education and training are factored in all parts of the subject discussed.

Mr. Gladwell comes to some interesting conclusions in the book. The conclusions are food for thought, but hardly hard science. He only talks about one or two studies per sub section, but he does discuss them thoroughly and shows how they support his hypothesis. I will say that he wrote a book that is engaging. The subject matter could have been written more dry and scientific, but Mr. Gladwell does a decent job of storytelling as well as presenting what facts he has. Another good thing about the book is when possible he presents real life results to actions that also support his hypothesis. The example of the Cook County emergency room was fantastic.

Overall I really liked the book and while the book is not for everyone I would recommend it for anyone who is interested in studying how humans think.

]]> http://wolfsongs.com/2009/10/book-review-blink-the-power-of-thinking-without-thinking-2/feed/ 2 Book Review – ‘Blink – The Power of thinking without Thinking’ http://wolfsongs.com/2009/05/book-review-blink-the-power-of-thinking-without-thinking/ http://wolfsongs.com/2009/05/book-review-blink-the-power-of-thinking-without-thinking/#comments Thu, 21 May 2009 21:40:39 +0000 Alpha Wolf http://wolfsongs.com/?p=266 I recently read the book ‘Blink – The Power of Thinking without Thinking’ by Malcolm Gladwell. The book postulates the theory that people can make better decisions with only the small amount of information that can be obtained when first presented with the question or problem. The author presents many case studies, from The 2002 [...]]]> I recently read the book ‘Blink – The Power of Thinking without Thinking’ by Malcolm Gladwell. The book postulates the theory that people can make better decisions with only the small amount of information that can be obtained when first presented with the question or problem. The author presents many case studies, from The 2002 Millenium Challenge held by the US Armed Forces to a study on married couples and how they behave when they think they are alone. Some of the studies were very meticulous and scientific, where others were mostly anecdotal in terms of evidence. One way or another, Mr. Gladwell managed to explain how people can think without thinking, how they can create an environment that fosters that ability and how environment and other factors could cause that ability to go awry. According to Mr. Gladwell everyone has the potential to think without thinking, but experts in the field in question not only ‘thought’ faster and with better results but they also had a better shot of explaining why they decided on the course of action they took.

I thought the book was a fascinating read. I was particularly interested in the parts where Mr. Gladwell detailed how the ability to think without thinking could be short circuited and how it could be supported by environmental factors. I basically saw the whole book as an extensive scientific exercise on the Oriental concept of Zen, with a dash of Feng Shui thrown in. Obvious ironies aside, it is a very compelling book. The whole idea is so intriguing because I would love to learn how to ‘think without thinking’ effectively. It certainly would be a much more efficient use of time and resources! I also wonder if Mr. Gladwell read any books on the philosophy of Zen, or if he did in the future would he incorporate any of those writings into another printing of his book?

The bottom line? I give this book an excellent rating and would recommend this book to anyone.

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