To think or to blink?

"There can be as much value in the blink of an eye as in months of rational analysis."

How is it that after months of scientific analysis and investigation of a marble statue it is deemed to be real and bought for $10 million, but when the statue is presented to a group of art experts, in almost an instant they felt an "intuitive repulsion" and knew that the statue was a fake?

Malcolm Gladwell introduces his book Blink by questioning our instincts and proving that although we live in a world where we believe that decision making requires time and effort, decisions that we make very quickly, almost instantly, can be just as good.

When we make decisions we go about this in the same style that we use to learn. We experience things which we think through and develop a theory about, and then we come to a conclusion. Gladwell refers to this as our conscious strategy which despite being "logical and definitive" is also slow. In contrast to this we also have an adaptive unconscious. This part of our brain makes decisions quickly, almost immediately, and based on a small amount of information. It acts under our conscious level where our brain can reach a conclusion without us actually knowing it has done so. Gladwell demonstrates and proves this with the story about the marble statue.

We really on have trust in our decision making at a conscious level. "Haste makes waste. Look before you leap. Stop and think. Don't judge a book by its cover." These have all been installed in us from an early age, as this way of thinking is thought to be a superior and smarter way to the art of decision making. Gladwell argues that we must learn that there are times instead where we must trust the power of our adaptive unconscious and make decisions in the blink of an eye. This is not always the case as there can be times where it can be "thrown off," distracted, and disabled," but it is something that we can develop and foster for ourselves.

Gladwell does an excellent job introducing his book telling stories followed by straight forward yet interesting and thought provoking explanations about the power of a blink; the first two seconds which made more sense of an important art statue than months of rational analysis.