Book: "Blink: Thinking Without Thinking"

Here’s fodder for our best piece of survival equipment – the ‘ol brain. Book targets broad audience, but has obvious emergency/disaster/survival applications.

Blink – The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell (currently on NY Times bestseller list). Found at my local library. Fairly quick to read – ~250 pages – filled with examples.

Dust jacket sums up premise, by saying, “…great decision makers aren’t those who process the most information or spend the most time deliberating, but those who have perfected the art of “thin-slicing” – filtering the very few factors that matter from an overwhelming number of variables.” In other words, trusting gut instinct.

Paraphrasing the author’s stated goals: convince you [that] decisions made quickly can be as good as decisions made cautiously and deliberately; [teach] when to trust instincts, and when to be wary of them; convince you that snap judgments and first impressions can be educated and controlled.

Thought it was overall a good book, though left some questions unanswered; but, got me thinking – always a good thing.

Hey, that pretty much sums up my method of problem-solving! On the other hand, my wife is the slow, deliberate data miner. I think I need a copy of this book to back me up.

-Blast

"He who hesitates is lost' could be countered with "look before you leap." I prefer the old gunman's adage " take your time and make your shots count- as fast as you can."

I learned somthing interesting last time I was in an emergency -- it really does take 8-10 seconds for the brain to absorb the information and come to a locical decison. That's why planning, preparing and practicing are so important.

TRO