Have you ever wondered why when you see a snake you jump without thinking? Malcolm Gladwell, writer of Outliers, attempts to answer this question and more for his reader in blink. Gladwell has done extensive research in the area of our brains known as the adaptive unconscious. It’s where we make our split second decisions whether it be jumping from in front of a moving car or concluding that someone is stuck up from a glance at their attire. Gladwell explicitly states his goals: to convince us that quick decisions can be very effective, to teach us when to trust and when to be wary of our instincts, and to convince us that our split-second decisions can be controlled.
As his hook, Gladwell tells an intriguing story about a museum and its purchase of a sculpture. A man sold the museum the “ancient” sculpture; its type is often discovered in archeological digs. The museum had experts come in and analyze the sculpture's authenticity and it passed the test. However, when they showed the it to fellow collectors some first impressions were “fresh” (an ancient sculpture should not seem fresh), repulsive, and “that thing has never been in the ground.” In the end it turned out that the sculpture was a fake despite the months of professional testing ran on it. What this story does is immediately draw in the audience; we want to know what happens. While we don’t yet know how the story ties to the rest of the book, we nonetheless want to know how the story shakes out. As we’re engrossed, Gladwell introduces the subject of the entire book, the power of the subconscious, intuition. From the irony of the outcome of the story we begin to see what Gladwell’s argument is and want to know more because the subconscious is an uncommon topic that many have a vague understanding of.
From other experts, he goes on to give other testimonies on how powerful the subconscious really is. Having read only half of the book, I can’t wait to read how he answers all of our questions.
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