IRB: Blink Reading Section 1

Note: I read all the way up to page 72 for this section rather than the previously indicated 48.

            Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink, is a Canadian journalist who writes for The New Yorker. He has published several other social psychology books. He appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List four times.

            In 1983, artists looked at a supposed kouros, or Greek sculpture, and immediately knew it was fake. It took scientists and historians a month to figure out what some experts saw in a split second. Likewise, just by analyzing the details in a couple’s conversation, psychologist Tabares knows whether a couple will still be together. Gladwell points to all of these as examples of the unconscious mind, a part of our brain that allows us to pick out patterns and make snap judgments. In the first part, The Theory of Thin Slices, Gladwell discusses how looking at something for just a few seconds can create far more accurate predictions than, strangely enough, knowing someone or something for a period of time. In his second part, Gladwell talks of a “locked door”; how the unconscious mind cannot be expressed and oftentimes cannot be accessed voluntarily by humans.

            Blink was written in mainly a spatial context. Gladwell mainly talks about things that have happened, and compiles them into one book. He discusses these “snap decisions,” these “thin slices,” from a scientific standpoint not necessarily related to any cause or immediate actions (although ironically enough Blink is about when people react in a temporal context!). It was intended for those who enjoy social psychology (such as myself), and for those who like many have some strange sense of awareness and judgment that they just cannot explain, and want answers.

            The main purpose of this book is for readers to gain an insight into what they before had not known about: the unconscious mind. As Gladwell says, it’s not the one Freud describes, but rather one that dictates HOW we think and gives us unnatural judgment. He describes the different parts and examples of its power, and at the same time, also shows how we as humans can improve ourselves with this knowledge of the “thin slice”.

            By using several rhetorical elements, Gladwell was able to accomplish his purpose. One rhetorical device he uses is directly talking to readers, addressing them in a casual manner as if he were lecturing in a college hall; this gives his tone a clear and easily understood inflection. Gladwell also cites numerous examples, such as tennis coaches, marriage counselors, art experts, and all groups of people who exemplify his ideal of the unconscious mind’s power. He appeals mainly to logos: in an analysis of the potency of speed dating, Gladwell takes a look at a specific group in Columbia and explains their experiences. His ethos is already established as a famous writer and bestseller.