The book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell discusses the thinking that occurs when a person blinks. In the two seconds that it takes for a person to blink, a tremendous amount of cognitive processes can occur. Often, these processes lead to snap judgments or instant conclusions. Very often, these snap judgments are the correct ones. The book gives an interesting insight into how quickly the mind can work, often with little apparent information.
The book opens with the discussion of a possible artistic forgery. The Getty Museum purchased an “ancient” statue that it verified after over fourteen months of exhaustive scientific tests and “expert” decisions. However, the author describes how some experts instantly questioned the legitimacy and authenticity of the artistic piece. Their first thoughts indicated to them that something was not correct about the statue. In one case, the expert immediately thought of the word “fresh” upon seeing an apparently ancient work of art.
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"Blink by Malcolm Gladwell".
Gladwell uses examples like this to discuss the concept of “thin-slicing. According to Gladwell, “’Thin-slicing’ refers to the ability of our unconscious to find patterns in situations and behaviors based on very narrow slides of experience” (Gladwell 23). This concept is based upon the unconscious mind’s ability to rapidly analyze small amounts of information that are presented to it. It can then use this information to deduce the proper assessment. This tends to also utilize information from the past. For instance, the story of the Greek statue indicated that art experts recognized that something was “off” with the statue upon immediately seeing it. We are likely to be wrong in our assessments when they tend to often individuals. For instance, the gut instinct that Warren Harding would be a good president based upon his looks was wrong; he lacked character as an individual.
Interpretative competence or interpretive perception is another interesting concept. We have discussed this in class and it does relate to thin-slicing to a certain degree. The idea of interpretive competence or interpretive perception refers to how individuals can organize and describe the conditions that occur around them. It allows humans to help perceive things correctly. For instance, if a person is discussing a topic, it may become apparent where the topic will go next. This is the ability to perceive in an interpretative manner. There are, of course, clues to this in discussion. For example, great speeches are known for the ability to lead to audience in the correct direction. They do this with verbal and even visual clues throughout the delivery of the speech. The ability of the audience to reach the correct conclusion relies on their ability to properly interpret this based upon their perceptions of the material already presented.
In many ways, the story of the Greek statue indicates this. The art experts had seen many examples of this type of art before the Getty statue. Therefore, they had a solid foundation of learning upon which to base their instant perceptions of the statue. For one expert, something was wrong with the fingernails. This implies a level of perception that is above that of the average person; the average museum visitor with no knowledge of art history would probably not have even noted such a small detail as the fingernails. The expert had obviously spent hours studying various similar pieces of work to recognize such a fine detail. In this way, it is different from interpretive perception; one cannot interpret what one does not understand or have any knowledge about. If one attempts to do this, the result will likely be wrong.
Interestingly enough, one time when “thin-slicing” is considered to be a problem is with police. It appears that two police in one cruiser can actually lead to more arrests and more violent confrontations. This is because the law enforcement officers naturally engage in thin-slicing due to the quick nature of their jobs. However, this may lead to quick confrontations as well. If there is only one police officer in a car, he or she will not rush into a situation. The person is more likely to wait for backup.
I think this book is most certainly helpful in situations. There are times when a person needs to make a rapid decision and then there are times when a person should sit back and consider the decision a little more carefully. I asked a friend about this, who is a paramedic. He said that he most certainly does “thin-slicing” on my emergency scenes where the person’s life is in danger. He said that he “always goes with my guy.” He recommended that, when in a dangerous situation, or a potentially dangerous situation, that I should always trust my gut instinct as well. One does not have time to second-guess oneself on different things that may result in death or in harm. He also said that, even if I get a strong instinct about something that is not critical, but a situation at work or school, that my gut instinct is properly correct. This is not to say that I shouldn’t consider the other options, but in the end, the first one is properly the best decision. This, of course, matches all of the advice I have ever been given on taking examinations. This is particularly true for multiple-choice examinations. The first answer chosen should never be changed. The only way an answer should be changed is if additional information, later in the exam, clearly gives away the correct answer. I think this is also true for life.
One should go with his gut instinct, which is caused by thin-slicing. If later information proves valuable, that should be considered. The statue at the Getty Museum clearly shows this. Thin-slicing indicated it was a fake. Scientific tests said it was real. However, regardless of the truth, it is still a pretty statue that probably draws an even bigger crowd. Most museum pieces are not marked as possible forgeries. If it is a fake, no one will die as a result of it. It is just an expensive mistake. However, if people go to the museum just to see that piece because of the story, then it probably paid for itself.
