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A review by ajmcwhinney
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
3.0
This book has some interesting insights and fun little stories about the role that snap judgements that our automatic unconscious plays, whether for good or for bad. I think the book is much more valuable for the anecdotes than any actual conclusions that can be drawn from them, only because I find the conclusions fairly self-evident/not incredibly interesting.
Where this book begins to lose me is in its discussion of how we can stretch these insights to "solve" issues of systemic racism and sexism. Yes, there are clearly things we can do in the moment to begin to alter perception (blind auditions for orchestras have made it so there is gender parity in orchestras mostly now, is one of Gladwell's examples). But does that "solve" anything in the long term? I also don't think we're going to solve police violence by just making police training "better" in terms of improving snap judgments.
I understand that Gladwell wants people to take practical action now instead of mulling over issues that seem too big for us, but I don't think his solutions really play into any long-term strategies for getting at the roots of any large societal problems, like he claims. Practical everyday solutions don't need to be divorced from long-term, bigger thinking, and to assume that they are (or that such thinking inherently stifles action on issues) is poor thinking to me.
Where this book begins to lose me is in its discussion of how we can stretch these insights to "solve" issues of systemic racism and sexism. Yes, there are clearly things we can do in the moment to begin to alter perception (blind auditions for orchestras have made it so there is gender parity in orchestras mostly now, is one of Gladwell's examples). But does that "solve" anything in the long term? I also don't think we're going to solve police violence by just making police training "better" in terms of improving snap judgments.
I understand that Gladwell wants people to take practical action now instead of mulling over issues that seem too big for us, but I don't think his solutions really play into any long-term strategies for getting at the roots of any large societal problems, like he claims. Practical everyday solutions don't need to be divorced from long-term, bigger thinking, and to assume that they are (or that such thinking inherently stifles action on issues) is poor thinking to me.