Blink

The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

by Malcolm Gladwell

Hardcover, 304 pages

English language

Published Jan. 15, 2005 by Thorndike Press.

ISBN:: 978-0-316-01178-5
OCLC Number:: 57376513

(135 reviews)

Intuition is not some magical property that arises unbidden from the depths of our mind. It is a product of long hours and intelligent design, of meaningful work environments and particular rules and principles. This book shows us how we can hone our instinctive ability to know in an instant, helping us to bring out the best in our thinking and become better decision-makers in our homes, offices and in everyday life. Just as he did with his revolutionary theory of the tipping point, Gladwell reveals how the power of 'blink' could fundamentally transform our relationships, the way we consume, create and communicate, how we run our businesses and even our societies.You'll never think about thinking in the same way again.

18 editions

Zelanator reviewed Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Review of 'Blink' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Gladwell once again impresses with his lucid writing style. He has an enviable ability to make obscure theoretical concepts in the social sciences legible through the art of story telling. In Blink, Gladwell investigates "rapid cognition" in humans and what that means for everyday life. In other words, he is focusing on "System 1"—the mental 'system' within the human brain that makes snap judgments and decisions at a subconscious, involuntary level often within two seconds—described in Daniel Kanheman's Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow.

He organizes the book around a set of conceptual problems and themes all related to "rapid cognition." These include, among other things, an art expert's ability to detect counterfeits, the ability for police to "read minds" accurately or inaccurately through recognition of facial cues (a brief aside: in the COVID-19 era of compulsory mask wearing, there are serious implications now about our ability to accurately "read faces" in a variety of contexts, most likely for the worst), and how marketing subtly manipulates our "System 1" through cues placed on food labels. All of these themes are engrossing, with most having some application to everyday life. In sum, when you feel that you have a "gut instinct" about something, that feeling is emanating from "rapid cognition," or your ability to recognize cues, signs, or symbols in the blink of an eye. You will seldom be aware of precisely how you came to have this feeling or inclination.

Highly recommended. If you prefer looking at this strictly from the academic point of view, go to Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow; if you want to pop psychology perspective, then Gladwell is the right fit.

naomi reviewed Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Review of 'Blink' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Very good but the beginning chapters could’ve been reduced in length.

Trey Hunner reviewed Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Review of 'Blink' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I listened to the audio book read by the author and I found it engrossing. I treated this book as a collection of stories, studies, and anecdotes all with the common theme of human understanding. It seems like some of the science might be lacking (small sample sizes and anecdotal studies). This didn't bother me greatly because there was no overall conclusion in the book to be disputed, just a series of individual stories and a vague "perception is hard" conclusion.

Ching-jan reviewed Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Review of 'Blink' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

just start, first chapter unfinished.

freezin4books reviewed Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Review of 'Blink' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

A quick but informative read, with engaging stories that stick with you. This book may be easy to read but its implications will stick with you and change the way you think about the world.

Mark Anderson reviewed Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Review of 'Blink' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I really enjoy reading Gladwell. Unlike many of the reviewers here on Goodreads, I don't feel threatened by Gladwell's "pop" narratives--instead, I feel enriched, even as I am aware that he is purposefully skimming over deeper or dissonant material. He goes, instead, right to the heart of the good stuff. He is the kind of visionary writer that we need more of--a synthesizer of information, weaving and connecting disparate pieces of research to form suprising insight, much the same way a poet strings a metaphor from seemingly unrelated things.

Molly Foust reviewed Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Review of 'Blink' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Wait, do I trust my instinct or avoid snap judgments? How might I control my unconscious? These questions were not satisfactorily answered for me. One slice I took from this book is affirmation that we live in ruts of thought, and that first impressions and superficial signals are even more important than we already know. I also find myself wanting to be trained in reading facial expressions so I might more effectively manipulate/understand others... I liked the book but my unconscious is vaguely unsatisfied with its depth, and I think I just liked the cover and title then enjoyed the anecdotes....

🍄🌈🎮💻🚲🥓🎃💀🏴🛻🇺🇸 reviewed Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Review of 'Blink' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

This book is making me realize how many judgements humans make in a blink of an eye. I don't know if this is going to help or hurt me.

Pentapod reviewed Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Review of 'Blink' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Really interesting book summarizing a number of studies and examples of how the unconscious mind can reach accurate judgements in a "blink" based on information we may not even know we are receiving. The book looks at examples of when it is good, and not so good to rely on these snap decisions, and how they can be influenced.

A very thought-provoking read that covers everything from New Coke (and why it failed) to US military war games (and why they failed), gender bias in professional orchestras (and how it's being eliminated), why a lone police officer is safer on patrol than a pair, and how to predict if a marriage will fail.

Like his first book "Tipping Point" it doesn't necessarily reach any firm conclusions, but raises many intriguing thoughts and questions. A bit more nitty-gritty detail would have been nice, this is really just a quick brush over …

Louis Simoneau reviewed Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Review of 'Blink' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

A number of quite interesting stories, though I thought it lacked much of a cohesive thread/argument. Tied together in the end, but for me it's just a good, entertaining read, not a great book.

gabe. reviewed Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Review of 'Blink' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Finally got around to reading this, a book I've had on my list for a few years now. Excellent. I really enjoyed it and it makes you think about how your brain works. Lots of entertaining examples and stories. Definitely an interesting read.