Finished reading Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking coming home on the train today. Good stories, nice flow, good writing overall.
A relatively simple concept that we should understand and then trust our instinctive first impressions, snap judgments, or in Malcolm's terms "thin slices".
"... we are often careless with our powers of rapid cognition. We don't know where our first impressions come from or precisely what they mean, so we don't always appreciate their fragility. Taking our powers of rapid cognition seriously means that we have to acknowledge the subtle influences that can alter or bias the product of our unconscious.
...
... if we can control the environment in which rapid cognition takes place, we can control rapid cognition. We can prevent people fighting wars or staffing emergency rooms or policing streets from making mistakes."
I was asked if the book could be shorter? Possibly, but it certainly does not feel long. The story teller holds you gently, guides you through his passages, building his case so that you can get the point.
Nice writing, Malcolm!
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