TOW #11 IRB Post

In the opening chapters of his book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell introduces the idea that when it comes to the human subconscious, a little information can go a long way. According to Gladwell, our brains use a process called "thin-slicing", in which they use limited information received over a short period of time to make judgments about a situation. These judgments, as demonstrated by the examples and studies Gladwell includes, are often remarkably accurate. The ideas Gladwell presents are interesting and supported by a variety of anecdotes and statistics. One section describes how by witnessing and analyzing samples of one conversation of a married couple, a man named John Gottman can predict whether or not their relationship will end in divorce. Then an experiment is explained in which people were able to determine certain aspects of a college student's personality simply by observing his or her dorm room. In further explaining the same idea, Gladwell writes about research that showed a doctor's likeliness to be sued could be judged based on something as simple as his or her tone of voice when talking to a patient. However, not only does Gladwell write about how unconscious judgments can help people make accurate conclusions but also how they can cause people to make mistakes. Gladwell cites examples of unconscious associations people make base on race or visual appearance that stereotype individuals. The array of stories and studies that Gladwell describes not only maintain the interest of the reader, but strengthen his idea by showing how the importance of unconscious thinking is observable and applicable in real life. They show the reader that this is not a wild idea pulled out of nowhere but a theory that has demonstrated to be be true in a variety of situations. The reader can see how these ideas make sense, and perhaps even recognize the role unconscious thinking plays in their own reactions.