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Literary Reviews: Blink vs. Think (Part Two of Three) by Malcolm Gladwell

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Title: Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Format: Audiobook

So in part one of this series I wrote about how I balance decision making between logic / reasoning and gut instinct / intuition. Also noted was the self-awareness that I was using logic and reasoning far too much in my life and the active shift towards integrating gut instinct / intuition into my conscious thought.

In the last post, I also mentioned two books that I have read that also lead into those trains of thought. I don’t believe in going down just one road or the other, but rather finding a balance of both. So this particular post will be my thoughts / review on the book Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. While the third post in this series would be about the rebuttal book Think!: Why Crucial Decisions Can’t be Made in the Blink of an Eye by Michael LeGault.

Blink dives into the hypothesis that “quick judgment” decisions work just as well if not better than decisions based off of extensive analysis. The author also talks about how one’s likes and dislikes, prejudices and stereotypes, and biases can color their gut instinct / intuition. But how can one tell if they have an unconscious bias?

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Reflections: Blink vs. Think (Part One of Three)

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Otherwise known as: Gut Instinct / Intuition vs. Logic / Reasoning

Most people that either know me or are acquainted with me would know that most of my decision making is typically borne thorough analysis. I spent a fair amount of my life using logic and reasoning as a basis towards decision making, that no matter what my instinct said about certain paths, my mind told me to give things a chance, wait things out, etc. What ended up happening was that I saw myself taking the high road quite a bit and by waiting things out I was unhappy… I wasn’t taking risks so I lost the spontaneity of my life. So I started listening my gut instinct and intuition more.

What became immediately apparent by changing this mentality was that a lot of life’s dramas – socially – seemed to have melted away. The stress that came with the internal war between my head and my heart disappeared. I became much more content with life and with the people in it, so I started finding ways to balance when to use logic and reasoning in my decision making versus using gut instinct and intuition.

Somehow, over the course of the past decade, I have learned how and when to use logic/reasoning and how and when to use gut instinct/intuition. In fact it has gotten to the point where a friend of mine have said: “You are the most compelling devil’s advocate: you are presenting a reasoned logical argument as to why I should go with gut instinct and rather than logic and reason.” I can be very persuasive when I want to be… apparently.

Before I continue with this post… let me explain what I am planning to do. This first post of three will be something of my own thoughts of logic/reasoning vs gut instinct/intuition and how I have come to use it in everyday life.

Then the next two posts will be my thoughts of two literary pieces that I have read in my lifetime and how they reflect or change my life and way of thinking:
Part Two – Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
Part Three – Think!: Why Crucial Decisions Can’t be Made in the Blink of an Eye by Michael LeGault

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