Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (Chapter 2: The Locked Door)

Blink is a book about the power of snap decisions and the power of instinct, summed up by the idea of "thin slicing." Each chapter of Malcolm Gladwell's book details the effects of thin slicing in various aspects of human life, such as gambling, sports performance and analysis, movies, predicting a couple's chances of getting divorced, or simply reading someone's body language. This chapter was about an extraordinary man's ability to simply know when tennis players will make a rare mistake called a "double fault," and the mystery of how humans can know things without being able to explain why. It delves into this idea of "priming," in which the human subconscious can become aware of an environment and affect our reaction to the environment without our awareness of doing so. Malcolm Gladwell is a writer for The New Yorker and has published four books that deal with the potential effects of current social and psychological findings. He has been named one of Time Magazine's Top 100 Most Influential People, and all of his books have been national bestsellers. Blink is based on the subject of mental processes that influence judgment and decision making unconsciously, with the purpose of informing the audience on the power of snap judgements and how people can use this power to make better choices.  Blink addresses the general public. It's primary rhetorical mode is exemplification, as Gladwell is simply trying to support his theories on the unconscious mind by presenting anomalies and scientific studies to the audience. Gladwell uses many examples of well-founded research, complete with statements from the scientists themselves, to make his argument more credible (an example of ethos). His writing style seems pretty casual, as he addresses the audience multiple times when transitioning to a new topic.

Personally, I think the stories and information presenting was extremely compelling, especially when Gladwell offered a mock test for the audience and stated afterward that this test would've made me walk slower (had I been leaving an "office" after taking the test). I was aggravated that Gladwell did not offer up any profound insight into how the subconcious works, but his purpose was to assure his audience that maybe knowing the "whys" and "hows" isn't for the best. I will be on the lookout for my own gut instincts and snap decisions, and perhaps even begin trusting them without a defined justification for doing so.