Blink

I'm about one-third of the way into Malcom Gladwell's Blink and I'm quite absorbed. If you haven't heard of Malcom Gladwell, you've likely been living in Elbonia for the last three years. He's so cool he's uncool that this point. But he's a damn good writer.

His theory (or I shouldn't even say "his" theory, because what Gladwell is, is a very good journalist and synthesizer of information. He does not do any of his own research. He just asks questions and then brings in the research of others to support what he thinks is the answer.) or the premise that the arguement is built on is that we all have mechanisms that work below the surface of our consciousness, to help us make decisions. Many times, these snap judgements and instantaneous analyses are correct. We know things without knowing how we know them. For example:

1. I knew that my last boss would be a manipulative beast the very first time I met him. A quote from my journal at the time: "I can't work with an egomanical chauvinist. Which is actually what my impression of him is. Should I follow my instinct?"

2. One of my ex-boyfriends is gay. I knew this when we were dating, even though I never really knew it. Another journal quote, "If James were a woman, Adam would want to be with him. Maybe even if James weren't a woman." I was jealous of James. I always felt that Adam was interested in him in a way he was never interested in me. We broke up six months later. It wasn't until many years went by that he finally came out to me. I wasn't shocked.

What I'm hoping Gladwell will cover is how to harness those flashes of intuition and use them to one's advantage. I'd certainly like to never have another gay boyfriend, that's for sure.