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Summary: In a Blink of an Eye
Comment: This is an amazing eye opener of a book on human behavior and how our brains function in thought. In a blink of an eye, decisions can be made and appear to be the result of a well thought out and educated process.
The author presents various illustrations of these instantaneous decisions; the antique dealer who recognizes a "fake" antique at a quick glance or the tennis coach who sees an error made even before the player hits the ball. These experts have trained themselves not only through repeated exposure to their craft but also through the use of intuition thoughts. This combination (expertise + intuition) accounts for high percentage of accurate decisions.
In reading the opening title of this book, "The Power of Thinking without Thinking" I was reminded of another book written by Ariel & Shya Kane called "Working on Yourself Doesn't Work: The 3 Simple Ideas That Will Instantaneously Transform Your Life". The Kanes present 3 simple ideas for transforming your life without "working" on any life "problems". The Kanes transformational approach to life has proven successful for thousands of people.
I highly recommend both of these books which are life provoking in positive ways for anyone interested in living an extraordinary life.
Customer Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable and compelling read - more something that gets you thinking and not an intense scientific analysis.
Comment: 'Blink' is, as many others have said, an anecdotal, absorbing book on the premise of just how powerful gut instincts can be. It's not an in-depth analysis or criticism of theory, but as I picked it up that wasn't what I was looking for anyway. As a Psychology student, I read it outside of my course for enjoyment and not only does it give grounding to such an interest (i.e. a friend in her 3rd year of Psychology is using 'thin-slicing' in her project, and I lent her this book to help her understand it fully!) but is also one of those books that stays with you. It affects how you think about certain decisions and a greater understanding of your own mind. What more could you want from it?
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Summary: A Critical Decision Making Tool!
Comment: Sometimes decisions need to be made quickly. All of our knowledge, education, experience, reasoning, intuition, common sense and confidence must come together rapidly.
Malcolm Gladwell calls quick decision making thin slicing in his book: Blink. Thin slicing is the ability to focus on a small set of critical variables to make a quick decision rather than consciously considering every possible variable.
Many decisions are time dependent. Weighing the amount of information needed before making a decision, against the time available is a challenge.
Examples of when thin slicing is needed: combat, avoiding a car accident, or anything requiring an immediate decision. Another common name for thin slicing is thinking on your feet.
Gladwell does an excellent job of explaining what happens in these situations. For example:
"...in interviews with police officers who have been involved with shootings, these same details appear again and again: extreme visual clarity, tunnel vision, diminished sound, and the sense that time is slowing down. This is how the human body reacts to extreme stress..."
Besides the excellent examples given in the book, here is a classic example of using thin slicing.
Thin slicing was used on multiple occasions during the US space program. Gene Kranz (a flight controller on the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs) writes about the need for quick accurate decisions in his book: Failure is not an Option.
Endless intensive simulations were run with the controllers, flight crew and others before every launch. Everyone's skills had to be razor sharp during the actual missions. Decisions had to be accurate and made in real time. There was little, and sometimes no room for error. Lives were at stake. Risk was part of their business.
Gene Kranz sums up how he gained his skills to be a top flight director when he said:
"The flight director's ultimate training comes at the console, working real problems, facing the risks, making irrevocable decisions."
Although we may not be faced with life and death decisions, we will (on occasions) have to make quick decisions. The better our skills and Critical Thinking are, coupled with training and quickness, the more prepared we will be to make sound decisions in the blink of an eye!
The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking
Customer Rating:
Summary: A new way of seeing
Comment: In the blink of an eye we gather huge amounts of information. The author, Gladwell, likens our brains to giant computers capable of processing lots of data in a flash. I found it fascinating how we can use this information either for survival purposes and / or we can apply our intuitive knowledge to any given situation. The author coins the term "thin slicing" to explain the process of applying one's intuition. He states that we are often suspicious of trusting this intuition because it's so quick and easy, even when it's on target. He relays experiments where instantaneous "thin slicing" has amazing results, sometimes in life and death situations, but also explains what can cause the skillto fall short. The reason often being that we are not truly living in the present moment.
Two books that easily guide one into the present moment are Ariel and Shya Kane's "Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment" and "How To Create A Magical Relationship". These refreshingly fun and practical books effortlessly get the reader into the present moment where enlightenment resides. In an instant life can become brilliant and magical. Both of these intelligent books have shown me that life needn't be hard work in order to be amazing.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable read
Comment: Gladwell's prose is effortlessly readable and the reader is constantly entertained by his anecdotes. I don't think he is a great thinker, but he presents his concepts very clearly and you immediately see how they are reflected in your own life. What the book lacks is a structured argument -by the end you feel as if it hasn't really gone anywhere. Nevertheless it's a very enjoyable read. Along similar lines, I would recommend Steve Taylor's excellent Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It, which 'unpacks' why we perceive time passing at different speeds in different situations and shows how we can become free of it.
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