Comments on: Malcolmn Gladwell’s Blink: Your First Impression Is Usually Correct in Complex Situations

By: Three Notable Characteristics of Top 10 Posts: Lists, Headings, Images | Business Opportunities

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:37:00 +0000

[...] got the idea of looking at top 10 lists after reading Blink. In Blink, Malcolm Gladwell says people don’t understand the reasoning behind their unconscious [...]

By: Snippets Toward a Philosophy of Life | I'd Rather Be Writing - Tom Johnson

Snippets Toward a Philosophy of Life | I'd Rather Be Writing - Tom Johnson — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 05:05:40 +0000

[...] rationally? In Blink, Malcolm Gladwell says this split-second impression usually turns out to be more accurate than decisions that come about after lengthy reasoning. I constantly apply my gut impression to writing. If a paragraph doesn’t feel right, rather [...]

By: Does Design Matter in Comparison to Content? | I'd Rather Be Writing - Tom Johnson

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:19:31 +0000

[...] site’s visual design does, however, have some influence on readers. Design contributes to the split-second judgment that readers make about the authority of the site. If your site looks professional, your content [...]

By: Mohan Babu K

Mohan Babu K — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 18:34:27 +0000

Scott, Interesting analysis of an aspect of Blink. In my observation, the perceptions (First Impressions) are also shaped by the media and current affairs. Case in point how car dealer’s perception of South Asians/Indians has been changing thanks to offshoring.

By: Pages tagged "correct"

Pages tagged "correct" — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 05:20:24 +0000

[...] = “34d024″; var mooter_wrapper_url=”"; var run_method = “onload”; var mooter_target = “0″; Malcolmn Gladwell’s Blink: Your First Impression… saved by 1 others Jippyli bookmarked on 01/14/08 | [...]

By: Blogging Techniques for Getting More Hits | I'd Rather Be Writing

Blogging Techniques for Getting More Hits | I'd Rather Be Writing — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 20:15:38 +0000

[...] Malcolmn Gladwell’s Blink: Your First Impression Is Usually Correct in Complex Situations [...]

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 05:36:09 +0000

Scott, thanks for pointing this out. I neglected to add experience as a variable in split-second judgment, but I should have. The problem is, it seems too ordinary of a point to write a book around. It takes the mystery and awe away from the snap judgment. Experience isn't always a good thing. In many software environments, having someone who is uninitiated in the field can bring fresh ideas. Additionally, people who lack experience aren't making decisions based on an older, pre-internet economy. I wrote a couple of posts about how experience can be a negative -- MySQL CEO and Former MySpace Exec.

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 05:31:34 +0000

Thanks for your comment, Gordon. I haven’t read Malcolm’s other book, The Tipiping Point, but it is more widely known than Blink. Have you read it?

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:50:55 +0000

Something that Gladwell takes pains to point out (but which many critics, like the author of Th!nk, seem to miss) is that the unconscious judgements are made based on our accumulated store of experience.

A “Blink-like” decision is not just a gut reaction. Its our unconscious mind quickly looking at the variables and assembling a solution almost instantaneously — based on your store of experience and knowledge. There’s processing going on, but without the conscious mind’s tendency to second and third guess itself (as you pointed out).

Of course, this type of decision making doesn’t always work, and isn’t right for every situation. But when it works, it’s almost like magic.

By: Gordon

Gordon — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 09:10:15 +0000

This is also somewhat applicable to those of us writing in an XP environment. Making a quick decision is a fundamental part of how we work, and generally we are happy to go with gut feel than spend weeks on analysis and whatnot.

Sure, we get it wrong sometimes but I’ve worked in other places where we’ve gotten it wrong with weeks of analysis as well!

And yes, I’m the same as you when it comes to writing blog posts, I tend to bash them out, re-read them for editing and just know whether it’s good or bad (ish).

Great book that one, have you read his others?