Title: Blink
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Yesterday, while trying to sweat off my fat on the treadmill (I'm really hoping that keeping the temperature in the house set to 80, in addition to keeping our electric bills low, will help me burn calories faster), I caught an interesting segment on the Today show. It was about speed dating (and gosh it made me so glad that I'm not out there anymore), and the commentator said that most women can decide within 30 seconds of talking to a guy if he's someone they'd like to date. Guys take three times as long to decide (about a minute and a half), and the experts claimed that they guys took longer because they spent the first minute or so analyzing the woman's appearance and only then could they focus on her mannerisms, personality, and other subtle clues that might signify compatibility.
Blink is all about the snap judgments that we make all the time, often without realizing it. It explains why people voted for the worst president of all time, Warren Harding (he "looked" like a president), why interviewers can size up a job applicant in just a few seconds, why men usually get better deals on cars than their wives, how marriage therapists can tell within a few minutes of meeting a couple if they're likely to be married in 10 years, and why the police shot Amadou Diallo.
Blink is a fascinating read. It tells a lot about our first impressions and when we should and shouldn't listen to them. It's also really well written, has tons of fun anecdotes, and can be read, well, in a blink.
--originally published 4/21/06
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