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Instant Decisions In Malcolm Gladwell's 'Blink'

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Daviney McKay Sherry Lind Advanced English 24 February 2023 Making Decisions Everyone makes instant decisions without putting much thought and effort into them. In Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink, he talks about the unconscious and the “sources” that form the habits we act upon. It is common for people to thin-slice and make snap judgments about someone before even hearing them speak. In chapter one of Blink, Gladwell covers the action of thin-slicing and all the information that can quickly be obtained about someone. He uses an experiment performed by Samuel Gosling, a psychologist, as an example of thin-slicing. In Gosling’s experiment, he has people who have known the person for years and people who have never met the person to answer …show more content…

He talks about an experiment performed by Sheena Iyengar and Raymond Fisman, professors at Columbia University. In their experiment, they find that when they compare what speed-daters say they want with what they are attracted to, the two things don’t match (Gladwell 65-66). I agree with Gladwell and this experiment because I often refer to my “type” as one thing but am attracted to something completely different. I used to find myself thinking that my “type” is a tall, muscular, blond-haired cowboy but it turns out that’s not what I wanted at all. I recently found that my “type” is a tall, skinny, brown-haired athlete. I believe I figured my “type” to be a cowboy because of the people I was surrounded by growing up. My dad used to ride bareback horses and most of his friends, to this day, live on a farm or a ranch. Therefore, as a little girl, I was always around cowboys and believed that when I became older I needed to be with a man as sweet, caring, and respectful as them. Unfortunately, times aren’t the same and it is extremely difficult to find a cowboy like them which caused my “type” to change and move in a different …show more content…

He expands the action by discussing a social experiment performed by Ian Ayre, a law professor in Chicago. In Ayre’s experiment, he found that women and African Americans were considered to be suckers and were often pushed to buy a car for a much higher price (Gladwell 93-94). I feel this experiment is very true because, as women, we are immediately viewed as weak and dependent on others. This causes us to be overlooked when it comes to running a company or buying a car. Today, genders have started to even out when it comes to jobs but there are still times when women are faced with discrimination. I also agree with the experiment because it is common, especially in North Dakota, for Caucasians to view those of a different race differently from themselves. It can be very disheartening to witness as they may be very intelligent and friendly but are looked down upon because of how they look or

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In section three of the introduction to Blink, titled “A Different and Better World”, Gladwell delves into the importance of what his theory suggests. It is reiterated that people should begin to pay more attention to their instincts, and stress less about drawn out decisions. Gladwell even believes that “if we stopped scanning the horizon with our binoculars and began instead examining our own decision making and behavior through the most powerful of microscopes” that it would drastically change the way society functions. Something to note here is that this idea was not stated ordinarily or in a boring fashion; instead, Gladwell decides it would be more effective to personify the subject. Personification often adds new meaning to the overall message of a piece, particularly when done in such a way that it is profound and resonates throughout the audience.

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The “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” McIntosh begins her essay portraying the unwillingness of men to admit that they are over privileged. Even those who are willing to admit that women are at a disadvantage have a problem admitting their privilege. McIntosh realizes that this denial of privilege does not only apply to gender but to race as well. She realizes that white people including herself are thought to view racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage but have never had to considered an aspect of racism that befits them; white privilege. Although being a woman puts McIntosh at a disadvantage she realizes that by not acknowledging her privilege she is unintentionally oppressing others as well.

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In the book "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking", the author Malcolm Gladwell explores the world of intuition and snap judgements, which he refers to as "thin-slicing". In order to support his thesis, Gladwell implements a variety of examples pulled from real experiments conducted by psychologists around the country. Gladwell's thesis of the book is that often snap judgements are far more accurate than well though-out, carefully analyzed reasoning. Gladwell supports his thesis with the use of experiments conducted by other psychologists, or instances that agree with his claims, such as the Coke-Pepsi experiment, or the kouros statue incident. His thesis has an abundant amount of support, due to the fact that he gives several experiments and incidents as evidence.

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This is when you judge people by their actions and, most of the time, make the wrong assumption. “Murlough’s knives swished through the air, through the space where Debbie’s neck should have been, and through the soft fabric of the pillows and the mattress” (Page 213). This is where people realize their assumptions were wrong, based on actions. Darren and Mr. Crepsley tricked Murlough into making him think Darren was actually going to let him kill Debbie. All along readers have taken on the wrong impression too.

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Hiring more of them meant more productivity which lets the cash roll in. And giving them low wages just helps the corporate to gain more of a profit. That was how woman was played within the hands of the working system. Barry’s intended theme was the unjust working life of women and how within her terms should be taken in consideration that working conditions and wages should improve. Within her work, she argued in the support of women gaining a better education, livable work conditions, and supportable wages.

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Based on their ethnicity, gender, and economic situation, the characters in the book experience prejudice and marginalization. The experiences of black women, who confront particular difficulties because of their ethnicity and gender, are highlighted in the book. Black women still experience bias and discrimination in both the job and in their personal life, which is a problem

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Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking is Malcolm Gladwell’s second book. It was first published in 2005 and explores connections between psychological and neurological research and human intuition. Through various anecdotes and detailed examples Gladwell uses Blink to explore how someone’s subconscious affects their decisions. Especially when it comes to quick judgments.

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In the 1980’s black women are faced with a lot pressure in society, Because women of color are both women and racial minorities, they face more pressure in which lower economic opportunities due to their race and their gender. This pressure is reflected both in the jobs available to them and in their lower pay. Also because they are women of color they are likely to be the giver of the house and also within the families. Through the use of anecdotes,rhetorical questions, anaphora, ethos and metaphors, "In The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism, Audre Lorde argues that women of color need to respond to racism with anger spurred from their fear and that not a bad thing depends on how anger is portrayed.

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Mary, on the other hand, is unable to apply for a training position in engineering because she is an African American woman. She claims that she would “already be an engineer” if she was a white male, both highlighting the discrimination she faces in a workforce dominated by white males while simultaneously de-centering the eurocentric ideology, as she implies that she is more than qualified to become one, the only thing that’s holding her back is the discrimination she faces. This is further highlighted when Mrs. Mitchell disapproves of her application for the engineering program and calls her under qualified as she never took advanced courses at Hampton University, in which Mary claims that “[e]very time we have a chance to get ahead, they move the finish line.” By claiming that the “finish line” keeps moving, it suggests that she is treated unfairly since she is an African American woman that has the same qualifications as any white, male engineer working at NASA. This reveals the discrimination she faces makes it harder for those with marginalized identities to get ahead in a society where white males are given better opportunities and chances.

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Rhetorical questions In his expository text, “Blink”, Malcom Gladwell uses rhetorical questions to get the reader interested in the content of the book. This trend begins in the introduction where Gladwell introduces the idea that the subconscious mind has extraordinary abilities that people do not know about. After the Getty museum was asked to buy a Greek Kouro statue that was in almost perfect condition. The Getty performed an investigation to determine whether the Kouro was a forgery or not.

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He however observes and gains information from details in one’s dress and features to deduce different details about one’s personality and lifestyle. These “powers” to observe leads to information being known about contrasting characters without communication being used. This contrast helps display how communication does not have to be vital to locate information but can be observed and gained in silence.

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The men on the show told their stories of how they were qualified for jobs but were passed up and were angry because of it. These four men believed they were the victims of reverse discrimination in the workplace, when it was his turn to speak he had one question; why wasn 't the title of the show "A Black Women Got A Job?". He explained that without confronting men 's sense entitlement we will never be able to understand why so many men are so resistant to gender equality. For many generations, there has been there has nothing remotely close to gender equality in this patriarchal controlled society. Women were not even given the right

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