Aly Singleton
Independent Reading Q4 Reflection #1

Hello there!

This quarter I have chosen to read blink, by Malcolm Gladwell. It is a non-fiction book filled with anecdotes, stories, and facts about the power of snap minute decisions. The entire book revolves around the idea that humans should think about separating themselves from the beloved notion that reason always wins out. Humanity has convinced itself that thinking through every option, weighing the pros and cons, taking in every piece of information possible is the best way to make a decision. Malcolm Gladwell seeks to show the reader that this is not always the case.

I am about two thirds of the way through the book and have already been swept away with proof after proof of why this idea, "don't think, blink," is a valid life value. Gladwell repeatedly covers his tracks by acknowledging that this doesn't work across the board, but, rather, attempts to show that it does work more often than the average human would think.

While Gladwell uses different examples to cover different points, many of his examples serve to support the idea that too much information can hinder a decision making process. We are trained to gather as much information as possible to make an "informed decision," but Gladwell shows us times where extraneous detail compromises our judgement. One of these examples is with doctors diagnosing whether or not someone is having a heart attack. In the 1990s, the Cook County Hospital in Chicago had doctors were wasting time and resources trying to make the best decision. Not only was a lot of money and time being wasted, but they were rarely getting to the right conclusion. However, the hospital director (whose name I am currently blanking on) decided to try a radical approach designed by a researcher on the west coast. Instead of taking in everything about the patient (age, gender, race, evidence of diabetes, previous heart conditions), they found that it was better to only base their decision on three question about unstable angina pain, fluid in the lungs, and systolic blood pressure below 100.

The anecdotes and examples are intriguing and thought-provoking. However, I am still waiting for Gladwell to divulge a rule for when you should use your "unconscious mind" (the blink, quick decision one) and when you should opt for the "conscious ming" (the think, reason out the decision one). He has yet to offer guidance on which is generally better or even just when he hypothesizes each should be used. I'm hoping that the end of the book will discuss this and provide me with some idea on how I can confidently use this new way of thinking in my life.

I am still unsure how to take this book and extract a common theme to research. I am leaning towards something to do with phycology, of course, but I am unsure how in depth to go on Gladwell's specific subject. Maybe I could just continue to research decision making in general, or maybe something more along the lines of the research done on perceptions of others and of oneself. Gladwell talks about how asking about race before a test affects test scores and how pre-conceived notions can affect a car salesman. So, I am still unsure where this is going to go, but I am definitely excited to get there.