(Editor's note: Because of a printing problem with last week's issue, this book review is being rerun in its entirety.)
"BLINK: THE POWER OF THINKING WITHOUT THINKING"
By Malcolm Gladwell
In a psychological study conducted in the 1990s, groups of black college students were given 20 questions from the Graduate Record Examination, the standardized test used for gauging how well students will perform in graduate school.
When randomly selected students were asked to identify their race on a pretest questionnaire, this seemingly simple act was sufficient to "prime" them with the negative stereotypes that American culture often associates with African Americans and academic achievement, thereby affecting the student's performance.
In comparison to their peers, the students who identified their race prior to taking the test answered only half as many questions correctly.
The students asked to make note of their race had no less education and in no way had any significant disadvantage not experienced by the other group, yet they answered only half as many questions correctly.
What happened in these students' minds that made them perform so poorly? Was the subconscious to blame, and if so, why? In an heroic attempt to answer these questions, Malcolm Gladwell has written "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking."
In "Blink," Gladwell grapples with the unconscious mind and the power it has in influencing our everyday life. While our conscious mind goes about making decisions based on introspection, thought, weighing costs and benefits, etc., the unconscious mind is often operating behind the scenes and making a mockery of that beacon of Western culture: rationality.
As in the case of the students noted above, people often have a difficult time pinpointing the true cause of their actions or performance, thus putting rational thought in an awkward position. Of the students who performed poorly on the test because of the subliminal linkage of their race and academic achievement, none were able to explain the source of their substandard performance.
As Gladwell beautifully illustrates, most of us don't realize the degree of influence the unconscious mind has on our everyday lives. In many situations, it is to our benefit to have the unconscious mind make a decision quickly before the rational mind can take over.
We all know that we use this sort of snap, unconscious decision-making at some point, but do we realize how frequently we do it? And more importantly, do we realize what our subconscious reveals about out beliefs, our assumptions and our culture?
If you're intrigued, give me a call at the Green Lake Library (684-7547) and I'll put a copy of "Blink" on hold for you. My gut instinct tells me you'll never think about thinking the same way again.
Mark Pond is a librarian at the Green Lake branch, 7364 E. Green Lake Drive N. He can be reached via e-mail at needitor@nwlink.com.
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