Summary Of Blink By Malcolm Gladwell

In Big and Bad by Malcolm Gladwell, he states that S.U.V.s are not safe, although they may seem like they are. Specifically, he states that S.U.V.s are the opposite of safe. In the text, Gladwell discusses how people generally think, “If I am bigger and taller, I’m safer.” In other words, many people feel that if they are driving a bigger, heavier vehicle, they will be protected from harm. The article argues that the massive weight of the S.U.V. negatively influences the handling of the vehicle, leading to how fast you can navigate and control the S.U.V. The article counters the false sense of security by claiming that there is a higher chance of your S.U.V. rolling because of how big and cumbersome it is.

All in all, Gladwell helps paint a picture of what’s said to be behind the locked door of the subconscious. He uses repetition and rhetorical questions to stress how thin-slicing plays a crucial part in our world. The power of our minds are limitless but Gladwell is still searching for the key to unlocking the truth of our unconscious

As Gladwell conducts his argument, he writes with confidence and authority, which expresses his passion and knowledge about the subject. Gladwell’s poise throughout the essay, combined with his resume, establishes his credibility and constructs a rhetorically effective argument. Being a best-selling author as well as a professional

In Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Power of Context,” includes a series of short anecdotes in which are all defined by environment and how society shapes mankind. While reading these short stories Gladwell put into the novel, the audience can conclude that the rules of society have the power to shape a person or community. When reading “The Power of Context,” the reader must be able to grasp the understanding of how environment can affect an individual. One would say nature is the setting in which a person is brought up, nurture is the care variable one has the power to influence how they behave or how the setting can define who they are. In this style of writing Gladwell uses, shifts in societies behaviors tell stories of how the setting can influence behaviors of the main characters.

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking is a book written by Malcolm Gladwell. This book introduces the concept of “thin slicing”. The concept refers to how in a split second or blink of an eye people can make an unconscious and accurate assessment of someone. Using the concept of thin slicing we can determine what is really important within the first few seconds when meeting someone. Malcolm Gladwell explained that first impressions or spontaneous decisions can be just as important as decisions that are made carefully and planned out. According to Gladwell, people make better decisions with quick judgments than they do with a lot of analysis. Gladwell believes that the power

Simpson, David D. and Thomas M. Ostrom. “Effect of Snap and Thoughtful Judgments on Person

Throughout the book, cherry-picking information is one of the most obvious problems, Gladwell seems to only use information

Gladwell opts for the discussion of playing with the readers emotions, each of which affects a different demographic group. Thus, he succeeds in effectively creating a relationship between the audience and pathos using emotional appeal from the beginning to the end of his article. Gladwell uses “real world” problems to create a bond between his article and the reader, such as the racial profiling of terrorist and everyday people of the same descent. After meeting with New York City’s police commissioner, he states, ““We have a policy against racial profiling,” Raymond Kelly, New York City’s police commissioner, told me. “I put it in here in March of the first year I was here. It’s the wrong thing to do, and it’s also ineffective. If you look at the London bombings, you have three British citizens of Pakistani descent, in that case, who is going to be profiled?” If you guessed the British citizens of Pakistani descent, then you are correct. Most of the readers were likely not aware of New York City’s policy of racial profiling or any profiling laws and the negative effect it has on ethnic people for that matter. Gladwell is really toying with your emotions because he is using these metaphors to inhibit the feeling of being dejected within his audience. We tend as people to not worry about the sadness that is present in society, but Gladwell makes it a priority to bring out the sadness within the effects of racially profiling.

Starting in Chapter 6 Gladwell presents us with the mysterious and seemingly inexplicable series of events that occurred in Harlan, Kentucky in the 19th century to introduce the enormous effect of cultural legacies.

When thinking of successful people you automatically think about how hard people have worked to be successful. In the Outliers book "Malcolm Gladwell" argues that we should look at the world that surrounds successful people. For instance their culture, family, experiences, and their upbringing. Gladwell has made an interesting argument about how people become successful. In this paper, I will be talking about how Bradley Byrne, US Representative for Alabama became successful using some information from Gladwell’s arguments.

In Chapter Three, “The Warren Harding Error,” Gladwell focuses on what he calls “the dark side” of thin-slicing—the way that our unconscious minds tend toward Gladwell by arguing why our minds subconscious automatically assumes things based of stereotypes using the art of persuasion. Throughout this book you constantly hear of the idea of how we make snap judgements of everything and everyone and how we can be more aware of it in our lives. It also explains the good and bad side of "thin-slicing." (AKA snap judgements) In the book it says, "...to convince you that our snap judgements and first impression can be educated and controlled." (Gladwell Pg. 15) In chapter three of the book, Blink, it reflects on how snap judgements tie in with stereotypes. It says in the book, "We make connection much more quickly between pairs of ideas that are already related in our minds..." (Gladwell Pg. 77) The chapter starts off with exemplification when Gladwell gives the Warren Harding example which also explains the bad side to thin slicing. He then goes into classification and definition with the example of the IAT tests. The IAT tests are the perfect example as to how thin slicing is not always a good thing. This test measured that second level of attitude in an unconscious level, so it is our immediate associations that tumble out before you have time to think about them. The test also shows the unconscious attitudes that you might have even if they are completely opposite of what your

Q1. What is the general focus of Part 2? Answer: The general focus of Part 2 is ‘legacy’.

I wondered how many of the solutions to situations that he described were any more than finding ways to filter out information that was superfluous? This is evident in the case of the doctors who did not know if their patients were having heart trouble or not. The solution eliminated the questions that relate to risk factors and only focused on the actual symptoms. A risk factor is not pertinent to whether the person is having a heart attack at that very moment, though it seems it should be. Doctors attempt to weigh risk factors in their determination of someone’s heart health, when it should have no import. Eliminating that information is not “thin slicing” instead, it is increasing the efficiency of your diagnosis. The same idea can be applied to Gladwell’s arguments about the Getty statue (the letters were irrelevant to the authenticity of the piece), and the wrapping of margarine (The foil wrapping gives it a look of quality, even if it doesn’t change anything.) I also wondered if Gladwell assumed far too much. For instance, he often haphazardly tied in overall ideas to his smaller individual points. Such as in his chapter about Kenna, he says at the end of one sub-chapter where he describes experts’ taste tests between Coke and Pepsi: “Isn’t this what happened to Kenna?” It seems irrational to devote an entire series of sub-chapters to something and then apply it in such a vague and oversimplified way. He also assumes that “experts” are immune to the foibles of blind taste testing, while giving no evidence that they are any better, other than saying, “Would they be fooled by the Pepsi Challenge? Of course not,” as though it should just be accepted as fact, when in reality, many studies have shown that “expert tasters”, in particular, the

People of all ages are taught about the importance of having a good first impression—look clean, talk clearly, use good manners. It is especially hammered into young students minds as they prepare to enter adulthood and begin job interviews. However, what some people do not realize is the true impact that first impressions have on their decision making ability. Whether it be the impression of a person, place, or event, the human brain establishes an impression within the first two seconds. This impression, when trusted, can save someone countless energy that they would spend attempting to create a seemingly well throughout and thorough decision. The problem is, many times people overlook their instincts and trust methodical options which take much more time and are not always reliable sources. Malcolm Gladwell believes that the intuition you gain within the first few seconds of observation can be just as useful as well thought out and cautiously made decisions. Throughout the pages of Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, the message of trusting one’s instinct is conveyed through the use of anecdotes, rhetorical questions, and schemes.

Is cultural legacy to blame for the death of 228 passengers on board the 1997 Korean Air Flight 801 as explored by Outliers author Malcolm Gladwell? I agree with Gladwell that cultural legacies are powerful and persistent, as seen in Korean Air’s tarnished history. Although some cultural legacies are more impactful than others in terms of a person’s probability of success, at least a portion of someone’s many cultural legacies most likely have a great impact on their achievements. Therefore, a person’s cultural legacy should always, to some degree, be factored into a person’s chance of success.