This is my last thread on Blink. Thanks for letting me lead the discussion!
Let me remind you of most of the cases from the book:
Kenna, the singer
Vic Braden, the tennis expert
Warren Harding, past U.S. President
Pepsi vs. Coke
Gottman and the Love Lab
The Getty Museum acquisition
Paul Van Riper, the general, and the Millennium Challenge
The police massacre of Diallo
Heart attach triage at Cook County Hospital
Silvan Tomkins and face-reading
The food tasting duo of Civille and Heylmun
Predicting litigation of physicians
Slow-motion during distress
Herman Miller's "ugly" chair
Any thoughts on these cases? Any other thoughts on Blink or questions for the group? Did you enjoy the book? Will you recommend it?
I'm so glad you posted this... I had to return my copy of Blink today (grossly overdue and drawing increasingly emphatic emails from the library). I had forgotten a number of these cool cases.
ReplyDeleteI especially loved the ones about Cook County and also doctors and litigation.
Oh, and... thanks a million for leading our discussion! You did an amazing job!
ReplyDeleteUg, I've missed most of the discussions! I'm so sorry, it's been a crazy week(end). Here are my completely unorganized thoughts:
ReplyDeleteI definitely liked the message of the book, although I felt like the author just used 100 different examples to explain the same thing. I feel like the point of the book could've been in a pamphlet instead of a novel. It kept my interest for about the first half and then I thought, "OK, I get it ... another example as to why our instincts can be more beneficial than over-thinking sometimes." Having said all that, I was intrigued by several of the studies/examples. Particularly the one about how tall people tend to have higher paying jobs or managerial positions (or something along those lines). Standing at an astonishing 5'2" I have often felt slided in life but luckily I never had to worry about it too much when applying for a job as a server at Brick Oven or a receptionist at the MTC. Good thing there was no interview against taller people to be the care-taker of my children.
Also, the story of Warren Harding caught my attention. I remember learning in 8th grade history that many voters, women in particular, voted for John F. Kennedy because he was a good looking man without any other knowledge of his political views. I don't know enough to truly compare him to Harding, but it sure is interesting how many of us will make a pretty huge decision (like who should be the next President of the United States) based on looks alone.
In conclusion (am I writing an essay for school?) I enjoyed the book; but I would've prefered a more compact version.
Yes, Gladwell definitely likes to drive a point home, and drive it, and drive it...
ReplyDeleteAlthough I can't remember the food tasting duo for some reason. What was that one again?
The food tasting duo? Oh, they were so funny. They can tell which factory cookies and crackers come from just by tasting. Around page 178, but you don't have your book now so it doesn't matter. LOL
ReplyDeleteI personally liked all of the examples. I'll read Outliers soon.
Larisa, so glad you joined the discussion. Very funny about your job experiences. LOL Maybe there WERE taller people applying at the Brick Oven and the MTC but you totally overshadowed them with skill and personality.
ReplyDeleteLarisa's comment about Harding reminded me that I wanted to find an early picture of him to see what all the fuss was about. I was not impressed.
ReplyDeleteI felt like the book was redundant, too, but when Carol listed all the cases I realized how interesting they all were. And since they were so interesting, I explained a few of them to my husband while he half-listened as he watched TV - just like I did to him when he read Outliers. What would Gottman say about that?
I forgot to say that during one of the cases (face-reading?) they were tracking the eyes of a high-functioning autistic man watching "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and I was was so intrigued by his description of the movie that I rented it and am in the middle of it, waiting to have time to finish.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar experience of trying to explain some of the cases to my husband while he half-listened .... :)
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