“The key to good decision making is not knowledge. It is understanding. We are swimming in the former. We are desperately lacking in the latter.”
How do we make decisions? How do we know we’re making the right decision? Sometimes it’s a matter of instinct and other times, it’s a matter of research and thinking. The best decisions, however, are often made with little information and are made quickly. Except when stereotypes or high levels of stress cloud our judgment. In Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell explores scenarios where our subconscious takes over and makes judgment calls.
Blink is the third book I’ve read recently by Gladwell. His books Tipping Point and Talking to Strangers were both fascinating books that made me think deeply about issues. Blink is no different. I plan to read all his books at some point.
Blink starts out by discussing how some people can tell an “antique” is fake at first glance. Something in their subconscious adds up things they are seeing and makes a quick judgment. They don’t even know how they know, but they just know. Turns out that our brains can take in a lot of information and process it without consciously thinking about it. However, our brain can be influenced by stress and by stereotypes without our knowing it as well.
Blink is a great book to read and discuss with others. I’m sure most of us have had a time in our lives where we just knew something but couldn’t explain how or why we knew it. Then, there are other times our judgment has been so far off, we’ve been embarrassed. Blink helps provide a context for why those things happen. I would highly recommend the book to any adult.
Can you think of a time when you just knew something? Share in the comments!