Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 36
 Insights Into Right Brain Left Brain Thinking July 13, 2010
Patrick Sullivan (Kingston, Ont. Canada)
This book is all about how people think. The left side of the brain controls analytical thinking. The right side is used for intuitive thinking. Gladwell attempts to explain, the use of both analytical and intuitive ways of understanding information. The intuitive thought process tends to be at a subconscious level, so it is very difficult to identify. Gladwell lists several stories to help the reader understand how the intuitive mind works. I for one believe, that he has done a great job.
Various professions, require a strong ability in fast gut level thinking. Once a certain level of experience has been acquired, the professional relies on a very quick thought process, to make their decisions. Once again, Gladwell lists several examples to explain this process.
I highly recommend this book. It is fun to read and very informative.
 pop culture entertainment January 17, 2010
mocha (vancouver)
"Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" - The title had turned me off the book (too cutesy) for a long time, but I was pleasantly surprised once I ventured past the cover. It's basically about intuition/insight/different ways of arriving at conclusions, how it works, when it works, etc. Deals with conscious and unconscious ways of processing info, and how we toggle back and forth between the two. He describes the unconscious as being like a computer hard drive that is able to process much more (and different kinds of) info than our conscious minds can manage. If we try to think or analyze too much, we can actually lose insight. Sometimes less is more.
I would have liked more in-depth/scholarly coverage of the topic(s). Malcolm Gladwell is a journalist with no expertise (other than what his research has provided) in the things he is writing about. I think this lack is evident in the way some areas of the book were covered thinly and others seemed padded. Someone more knowledgeable would have been able to address the topics/areas in a more succinct and equitable manner, making for a more rewarding and seamless reading experience. What Gladwell has accomplished is that he has introduced some interesting and potentially useful concepts to the masses in a simplistic way. He has intrigued me enough to make me want to read more extensively on these topics by other authors. For this alone, I have given the book three stars.
Do I think this book will stand the test of time? - no
Do I think this book is well written? - no
Will I read it again? - no
Am I glad I read it? - yes
Great Deal October 8, 2009
M. Shahi (Canada)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The book as claimed was new. The price was amazing. The only thing was that the white cover was a bit dirty. Also some pages are printed not exactly vertical: no big deal for reading though.
Great book.
 Blink, blink, blink AD NAUSEUM August 8, 2009
Gwen Hawkins (Ruby Lake, BC, Canada)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Although the author offers an interesting approach toward making decisions, his continuing use of the same stories over and over again to illustrate his points drove me bonkers. Gladwell could (and should) have written the entire message in half the pages. He still would not have convinced me that his premise was correct, but at least I wouldn't have been bored. After reading The Tipping Point and Outliers, this book was a disappointment in both content and writing style.
 Interesting and enlightening July 21, 2009
Grover Vee (Canada)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Perhaps I was expecting too much after the rave reviews but I was left hoping to have had a better conclusion or wrap-up to all the interesting information that Gladwell presented.
That said, I would recommend it as an intereting read which provides you with why you should listen to your instinct. Gladwell does well to provide anecdotal evidence of how you may be better off making a decision based on your initial instinctive reaction rather than having volumes of data on which to base your decision.
It has to do with our learned experiences over the course of our lives. The information is stored in our brain and when the need arises, we subconsciously draw on that information to help us immediately assess our situation and thereby decide a course of action- within milliseconds. In fact, such millisecond decisions or assessments prove to be more accurate than basing decisions on detailed scientific data. It has to do with our brain's ability to pick up on minute differences in facial expressions or physical features - the curl of a lip, the angle of a frown line, a person's stance or even a professional's ability to sense that a sculpture is a fake despite scientific evidence to the contrary.
Thus the title of the book "Blink"
In keeping with the title, I think Gladwell could have condensed the material he presented, particularly with the discussion about the various parts of the brain which store various types of information. A diagram would have helped.
Nonetheless, it's worth buying the book because it provides very interesting perspectives on the biases we have embedded in our minds and how these underlying biases influence the decisions we make in our daily lives.
I learned a lot from this book.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 36
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