New York, NY:  Little, Brown and Company, 2005.  277 pp   $25.95.  11 refs

Malcolm Gladwell, author of the bestselling book, The Tipping Point, is challenging the way we make decisions in this new book.   Gladwell investigates all of those decisions that we make in the blink of an eye, quickly and effortlessly.  However, these decisions are much more complex than they seem. 

While not addressing intuition outright, he talks about such things as thinking without thinking, using gut instinct and making snap decisions with little conscious information.  All of these descriptions would also describe intuition.  Gladwell says that we are “innately suspicious of this kind of rapid cognition.  We live in a world that assumes that the quality of a decision is directly related to the time and effort that went into making it.” (1)  Through the discourse of his book, we see that more information is not always better.

Gladwell starts his book with the theory of thin slices.  This theory postulates how we make decisions with very minimal external information, based on information in our unconscious mind.  The accuracy of these split-second decisions is dependent on the beliefs that we hold within our unconscious.  Gladwell gives many examples of how thin slices  are effectively used to make timely, accurate decisions in life.  In fact, some of the best decisions we make can be made very quickly and cannot be explained to others. The art of perfecting thin slicing increases the capacity for better decision making. 

The key is getting better acquainted with our unconscious mind and what we really think.  According to Gladwell, “our unconscious reactions come out of a locked room, and we can’t look inside that room.  But with experience we become expert at using our behaviour and our training to interpret – and decode – what lies behind our snap judgments and first impressions.” (2)  Working with trained professionals will help in uncovering what lies beneath our consciousness.  Once we understand how the process works, we are more able to uncover our thoughts and feelings ourselves. 

Gladwell also addresses the problem of too much information.  Having good information is always nice when making decisions.  However, analysis paralysis can slow down the mind and make it more difficult to make decisions.  It increases the time to process information and creates more deliberation.  In the end, great decision making relies on a balance between deliberate and intuitive thinking.

Throughout the book , Gladwell weaves in wonderful real-life examples to illustrate his points and draws on cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology to explain his concepts.  This book leads readers to question their beliefs on how they make decisions, both consciously and unconsciously.  While this book does not lend itself to the spiritual or holistic arena, it does look at multiple levels of the mind.

References:

[1].  Gladwell, M. Blink:  The power of thinking without thinking.  New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company; 2005, 13.

2.  Ibid., 183.

Book review by Deborah Pratt

MBA, BSJ, Holos University Graduate Seminary Doctoral Student