Book report
The considered book to be analyzed is Blink: The power of thinking without thinking. The first to consider is the word title blink which is the action to shut and open the eye in an instant. The Author develops the idea that it is possible for humans to train the brain with experience and techniques to give a response to an external stimulus in a short time. The subtitle "thinking without thinking", from my point of view is a words play that gives the idea of the reader of the instantly of the process. It is possible to have an answer or decision-making process in an instant, an instant that may see outside as the person did not think the answer (Gladwell).
The book has an introduction, six chapters, and a conclusion. The introduction develops the situation of the statue that did not look original. The first chapter talks about the thin slices theory, or the capacity of a light knowledge has more capacity to be spread. The second chapter is called the locked door or what is behind the snap decisions. The third chapter is about the Warren Harding error and his presidential look. The fourth chapter is about Paul Van Riper and the creation of a structure for spontaneity. The fifth chapter is the dilemma of Kenna referring to the correct manner to ask the people what they want. The sixth chapter is about the art of reading the mind. The seventh article is to listen with the eyes where the author summarizes all the ideas of the book. From chapter four to seven and conclusions there is less than 2% of the content of the book with references to the first three chapters. I consider the core of the book is the introduction and the first three chapters of the book.
The introduction of the book, for be an introduction gives more a theory frame of the book than a short overview of the book. In the introduction, the author introduces the idea of having a conclusion without the use of tools and analysis's; only using previous experiences, the reputation, and hunch. The author uses the example of an art masterpiece, the kouros that needed more than fourteen years of verifications and tests to verify its authenticity and be able to be bought by the J. Paul Getty Museum. I consider that the use of an Italian art expert Federico Zeri represents the hunch and the experience that verifies the authenticity of the masterpiece. Federico did not apply a complex thought process to give its message to the owners of the museum about the masterpiece; he only said the masterpiece is suspicious to be fake (Empty Easel, 2016).
The first chapter shows to the reader the experience of the psychologist John Gottman that can analyses couples (man and woman) only to watching their gestures, corporal language, looks and movement without the need to listen what the man and woman have to say. I remember the concept of "listen with the eyes," the improvement of one sense with the elimination of other sense (O'CONNOR, 2012). The experience remembers me the communication principle that more than in a conversation 80% of the message is using "body language" and the rest is verbal (ECONOMY, 2015). The name of the thin slices, I related it with the physical analogy that the wind can execute a sustentation force over the area of the slice and give it velocity to displace a longer distance than a thick slice (Dijon, 2015). A thick slice will tend to stay or to fall to the ground, instead the thin slice, the wind will push it far away.
The second chapter the author refers to the snap decisions and how the normal people, different to a psychologist as John Gottman do not have the ability to explain or articulate the capacity to have a hunch about their decisions. I consider that the author gave two good examples: the tennis coach and speed dating. I consider the example of the coach Vic Braden lacks valuable information to support the theory of the prediction ability of the tennis coach. The behavior of Braden is similar to Federico Zeri, which cannot explain why the Russian tennis player will execute a double foul and why an ancient masterpiece is fake.
The third chapter refers about the President Warren Harding and how it was possible to create an image of a President without having the technical and government abilities. The appearance, the use of the negative thin slicing was enough to achieve the goal to transform Warren Harding, from a journalist to Ohio Senator and then President. This experience fits in the principle "fake it until you make it" (Goudreau, 2014). Daugherty, the responsible for that achievement, convinced to Harding that he would be President of the United States, Harding believed that and all the members of the Republican Party and the voters until the moment he became President.
For the rest of the chapters and the conclusion, the most important concept for me given by the author is the capacity to listen with the eyes. In the previous examples, the art curator, psychologist, dates and the Harding error; in all cases the information entered by the eyes and not by the ears or touch. The vision sense has a strong connection with the brain and with the thinking and response process (BrainHQ, 2016).
Works Cited
BrainHQ. (2016). How Vision Works. Retrieved from BrainHQ: http://www.brainhq.com/brain-resources/brain-facts-myths/how-vision-works
Dijon. (2015). LES PRINCIPES DU VOL. Retrieved from Dijon: http://lyc21-liegeard.ac-dijon.fr/TPE1S/les%20principes%20du%20vol.htm
ECONOMY, P. (2015). 18 Ways to Send the Right Message With Body Language. Retrieved from Inc: http://www.inc.com/peter-economy/18-ways-to-make-your-body-talk-the-language-of-success.html
Empty Easel. (2016). How to Judge Art: Five Qualities you can Critique whether you’re an Artist or not. Retrieved from Empty Easel: http://emptyeasel.com/2006/11/18/how-to-judge-art-five-qualities-you-can-critique/
Gladwell, M. (2007). Blink the power of thinking without thinking. New York: Back Bay Books.
Goudreau, J. (2014). Why "Fake it til you make it" is a terrible advice. Retrieved from Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/fake-it-til-you-make-it-is-terrible-advice-2014-5
O'CONNOR, A. (2012). Really? The Brain Gets Rewired if One of the Senses Is Lost. Retrieved from New York Times: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/06/really-the-brain-gets-rewired-if-one-of-the-senses-is-lost/?_r=0
