Blink - Malcolm Gladwell

**tommo** · 10-01-2011 04:27 AM

I think everybody should watch this interview. Possibly read the book too, not sure, haven't read it yet.

But watch this video, and pay very close attention to it. I think it is possibly one of the most important things people need to learn about at this time.

Gladwell talks very modestly and tends to understate some of the things he says lol
So some thing may sounds like an ordinary statement because he's not emphasizing it enough, like he'll add something in quickly and it's one of the most important things in his speech. So yeah you have to actually listen to the entire thing.

It's basically about how we make good and bad decisions, how they are affected and how we can overcome these problems.

Especially important is the part where he shows that snap decisions, instinctual decisions are only good as long as you have a good thorough background in the issue.
He mentions this in relation to the war games of the U.S.

I highly encourage everybody to watch this, it's just fascinating.

**Ne-yo** · 10-01-2011 01:49 PM

I've read the book, it starts off pretty good but then began to have problems, it's just a bit too anecdotal.

**tommo** · 10-01-2011 02:06 PM

Hm, I dunno, afaict from the videos, everything he says is based off studies. Not anecdotes.

**Ne-yo** · 10-01-2011 02:59 PM

I didn't watch the video but with regards to the book and not to spoil anything It appeared to me that too often conclusions were made on basic handwaving, or that critical countenance of studies were not noted. Nevertheless, even with this idiosyncrasy, the initial first third of the book cornerstones the thesis and makes for the conventional and yet entertaining read; but things just seems to derail from there and by the end the whole thing seems to go astray into into various paradigms that just don't seem at all felicitous for the topic. However, that's just me, you'll probably get something totally different out of it. You should definitely read the book nonetheless.

**tommo** · 10-01-2011 03:30 PM

I'll keep that in mind. I'll read it and see what I think.

**Replicon** · 10-01-2011 07:42 PM

I read the book a few years ago. It was interesting, and had some great stuff, but it fell short for me, cause it didn't really give you anything you could use in real life.

**DuB** · 10-01-2011 07:43 PM

Is the video link missing? I don't see it.

I read Blink shortly after it was published. It's an extremely interesting read, although I would agree with Ne-yo that it seemed a little unfocused at times. The thesis is never really developed in a clear and systematic way, but I really enjoyed the book in spite of this. The pleasure in reading Gladwell is in the journey, not in the destination.

**tommo** · 10-02-2011 01:16 PM

Hm, yes.... the link is gone. Weird. Maybe I just forgot to put it there lol

Here is the video

Replicon - Unless the way he talks about it is completely different to the book, I don't see how you couldn't apply what you learn here to real life.

**Original Poster** · 10-03-2011 10:26 AM

When I've heard about the material realm and the subtle realm, I often wondered if the subtle realm was really just the accumulation of millions of little details and "primers" being weighed by our unconscious. I decided there was more to it than that, but the two still seem very much related.

**Replicon** · 10-03-2011 03:01 PM

Originally Posted by tommo

Replicon - Unless the way he talks about it is completely different to the book, I don't see how you couldn't apply what you learn here to real life.

That's the thing - the book is exactly like the video. He tells some interesting and fascinating stories, but doesn't really go that much deeper. I really was hoping for something more practical. Like, after reading it, I was like, "wow, this is interesting... but where's the chapter that explains how to tune my snap decisions so they're more and more useful?"

**tommo** · 10-03-2011 03:18 PM

Oh ok. Well, I think the basic message is that you need to have knowledge of the thing first.
Like if you already have lots of knowledge about computers, for example, your snap decisions/judgements will be good if something goes wrong or whatever.
Whereas if you don't have the knowledge to begin with, your snap decisions/judgements/gut feeling about something will be horribly wrong most of the time.

So I don't think there's a specific way to make your judgements better specifically. Only to gain enough knowledge first before trying to become awesome on the spot.

Sort of like the way professional musicians will just improvise without thinking about it basically. Whereas someone who didn't have good theoretical knowledge first could not improvise for shit.

**Original Poster** · 10-03-2011 09:27 PM

In other words, practice makes perfect.

**tommo** · 10-04-2011 02:44 AM

Not just that. That's already been proven long ago. Although it does need repeating often.

**Original Poster** · 10-04-2011 07:50 PM

Proven? Lulz yeah I remember the Newton experiment that detailed the law of practice.

I'm saying, and I've said this before (Balance between purpose and awareness thread) that you want to utilize awareness for planning things. Pick your attacks wisely. Caution is the key, impulsive decisions are not beneficial when it comes to sorting out the when, where and how of action.

In the moment when it is time to act, thoughts are nothing more than doubt and the sperm that hits the egg is the one that doubts itself least. Pick your women wisely, but when you have sex, make sure to bring your A-game. Doubt is born from attachment, to truly make the best use of your decision making capabilities it is best to be attached to no particular outcome. That doesn't mean you're not allowed to care about your desired outcome, it just means you have no control over the outcome, only over the actions that effect the outcome. Focus on the actions, not the outcome, and you'll have the clearest mind.