Our first instincts are often the best for decision-making (except when they’re not) and over-analysis of a situation can often lead to mistakes (except when it doesn’t) — this is the main thesis of Blink. I certainly find Malcolm Gladwell’s writing style engaging and I appreciate his talent for making complex information accessible. However, as much as I enjoyed each individual chapter in this book, I could not find the main thread that sewed them all together. It felt as if each anecdote (as absolutely fascinating as each one was) contradicted the previous one. So instead of frustrating myself, I took each chapter for what it was and thoroughly enjoyed the breakdown of what successful and unsuccessful decision-making looks like in a wide variety of situations. My only complaint would be, that in the end, you are left without any real sense of how to apply these ideas. Entertaining, certainly. Useful, maybe less so.
With that said, Gladwell’s other books — Outliers and the Tipping Point — are still on my reading list, because I want to give him a chance to redeem my opinion. I have heard that people are often predisposed to like best the Gladwell book that they read first, but I hope this is not the case for me. I really want to like his books!
Do you have any thoughts to share about Blink, or any other books by Malcolm Gladwell?
This post makes me want to re-read Blink. It was the first Gladwell book I read and I completely loved it. The Tipping Point paled in comparison (thus supporting your theory that the first one is the favorite). But I recently finished Outliers, which I thought was really fabulous. It may even outrank Blink — I guess I should re-read Blink to find out. :-)