Blink: the power of thinking without thinking introduces a revolutionary ant at first glance a somewhat berserk was of analysis and decision making. The book argues that mental analysis that works rapidly and somewhat almost instinctively is far much better and more prone to success than well informed, researched and clearly thought out decisions. The main subject of the book is thin slicing which is human ability to clearly make out what is most relevant within minimal periods of experience as opposed to well thought out research, in-depth observation and longetive analysis with all relevant facts at hand without making any decisions. The author calls this art thinking without thinking where thinking less gives more successful results hence less ismore(Gladwell,2005,p.24).
John Gottmam a renowned researcher for his profound analysis of marital affairs is a clear example of less translating into more and even more. He can accurately predict how long a couple will stay married through watching them converse within a minimal time span.He makes quick analysis of the couple’s speech pattern, body language, and facial expressions to make a quick but more accurate prediction on the lifespan of their romance. With prolonged exposure to the couple his accuracy levels diminish significantly .John Gottman clearly makes more from less and shows us how minimal exposure is equal to near pin point accuracy and efficiency.
The book also talks about the Getty Kouros a statue brought to the J. Paul Getty museum California and proved by many experts without any doubt whatsoever to be legitimate. When George Despinis, head of the acropolis museum in Athens first looked at the statue his initial instant analysis was that something was evidently a miss.Gradually the discussion on the legitimacy of the statue intensified and its legitimacy fell apart. The statue was proven to be fake and its legitimization documents a big fraud. A more up-close analysis of the statue found it consist of many styles from different times fused together to produce the ultimate fraudulent illusion that would have gone un noticed had it not been the quick near instant analysis of one expert who uncovered the truths and the lies in minimal time contrary to previous experts who had invested numerous volumes of time in analysis and legitimization of the statue only for it to be proven as fraud by a first glance approach. Clearly less is more and over thinking clouds judgment and may lead to deviations from the truth(Gladwell, 2005, p.152).
The thinking less principle is also highly advocated by psychologists worldwide. They argue that although faced with endless challenges throughout daily life the less we think the more prepared we are to deal with these problems. They argue that thinking less reduces stress levels and enables us to clearly distinguish what is important from what is not. Once again less is more and in this case even healthier.
Contrary to this thesis that less is more there are many real life cases where less is not more.In fact less may lead to much less or even nothing at all. Take the school situation as an example. If a student walks into an examination room and employs the less is more philosophy he might end up misreading the question and producing completely off topic responses. The same student might also employ this philosophy in relation to his general studies and study less with high expectation of satisfactory results but it has been proven time and again that in this instance less is lesser and more is much more. This thesis would clearly lead to academic doom and results not worth looking at (Jones, 2011).
This revolutionary thesis can also be refuted in a job interview situation where careful in-depth research might just draw the line between a successful career and utter unemployment. Applicants who put time into careful research and exhaustion of all aspects of their aspiring job position more often than not end up getting the job as opposed to applicants who think less and just answer the interviewers’ questions with the first thing that comes to their minds. Potential employers prefer interviewees well versed with all aspects of the job opportunity and clear understanding of what is required of them at each juncture of the job environment. Hereresearch and exhaustive analysis is everything and less does not translate into more.
In the police department especially in criminal investigations less is never more and gathering all the facts before moving to prosecute a case is of unimaginable importance. Police officers have to think more, not less and gather as much evidence as possible before making any major decision in order to uphold the reputation of the police department and maintain publictrust. Thoroughnesscannot be underestimated or overlooked and the more the research done the more the chances of accuracy in dispensation of justice. Less does not translate into more and the more the research and analysis the more truthful and satisfactory the results (Jones, 2011).
Thinking less can produce brilliant results especially when decision making is not clouded with over information but this is not always the case as certain issues require detailed analysis before any major step is made (Jones, 2011).
References
Dekker, T. (2002).Blink. Nashville, Tenn.: W Pub. Group.
Gladwell, M. (2005).Blink: the power of thinking without thinking. New York: Little, Brown and Co..
Jones, T. (2011).Blink & Caution. Somerville, Mass.: Candlewick Press.
