It may seem that I am backpeddling, but I decided everyone should read Blink.
It is a starting point for the conversation about intuition and thin-slicing and decision-making. In every author interview I have done in the last two weeks, Blink has come up. In some cases, it has been to refute assertions by Gladwell (see the John Eliot interview). In other cases, it has been to further expand the conversation on what Gladwell was talking about.
You need to get reading, because in two weeks, and I am going to give you your next Must Read.
P.S. I am still not a fan of the Malcolm Mania.
Posted by Todd S. at March 11, 2005 01:50 PM | TrackBack
I love the topic described in your critique of Blink. But in light of of your earlier post (How to Read a Business Book) I have a question; What other two books do you recommend on the subject?
Does "Blink" compare to or add to "Hare Brain / Tortoise Mind" by Guy Claxton?
Or "The Logic of Failure - Recognizing and Avoiding Error in Complex Situations" by Dietrich Dorner?
Think of Blink as the user-friendly anecdote-rich Mac interface of Gary Klein's excellent book Sources of Power.
Posted by: Tom Ehrenfeld at March 11, 2005 02:45 PMResistance is futile Todd … you will be assimilated in the Malcolm Mania.
Go Gladwell or go home. Dig?
(Just joshin’.)
Tom stole my point! :-)
I was going to use Hawkins' On Intelligence as an example of a more academic write-up, but Sources is equally representative...
Posted by: Frank Ruscica at March 12, 2005 12:13 PMMalcolm mania might be a bit too much, but honestly, he could have written about the mating habits of the Great Gander Goose of Georgia and I'd have bought a copy. Personally, I found The Tipping Point to be so brilliant that I have enough respect for the man that I'll give him a second read without question. The third read, however....well, we'll see after I finish Blink.
Posted by: Jake at March 14, 2005 09:24 AM