Blink

Malcolm Gladwell's new book, Blink, did not grab me the way that The Tipping Point did, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Like The Tipping Point, Blink is full of examples from history, psychology, and other social sciences that illustrate Gladwell's theses about the power of intuition and how our unconscious influences our conscious decisions and thoughts. He paints a rather bleak picture of the prospects for overcoming racism and other prejudices, although he does end the book with a chapter about how, by listening with our ears rather than our eyes, we might be able to see people for who they truly are, rather than through the lens of our own prejudices. This point, and others he makes throughout the book, made me wonder about the influence of electronic communication on our relationships. When you first meet or even when you develop a relationship with someone over e-mail, those first impressions that can set the trajectory of your relationship are totally different from those when you meet in person.

There is a really interesting chapter about military decision making that everyone should read, as it casts the war in Iraq in a new light. And for the musical among you, have you ever heard of Kenna? Gladwell devotes a whole chapter to his non-meteoric rise in popularity. I think where Blink falls short of Tipping Point is just in its scope: rather than talking about broad social phenomena, Gladwell is here talking about personal, individual decisions. But a very worthwhile book.