One diversion down - finished Blink

I finished "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking". Like most of Malcolm Gladwell's work, it is a fun read. Gladwell really has a gift for simplifying the complex simple and making the science both personal and general at the same time.

I've always felt pretty cognizant of using what Gladwell terms "rapid cognition" (aka intuition, snap judgments) as a starting point, so this book didn't seem groundbreaking as much as reinforcing. I was an easy sell for this book. However, I work in an environment where it seems the appetite for data can never be satiated...I'll be looking to see what those folks think about this book.

As much as I like to work with hunches as a starting point, I also need to see supporting data and research. So, I was happy that this book featured more supporting evidence than "The Tipping Point". It still feels a little anecdotal to me. I would like to see more research and data, but that would probably undercut the readability for the mass audience that this book was clearly written for.

It's been a few years since I read"The Tipping Point", so I can't recall the precise points in the book which annoyed me. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, but there were areas where the supporting/scientific evidence was very thin. That left me unconvinced of certain points. My copy is out on loan.When I'm done I'll have to re-read it and pinpoint the issues.

Malcolm Gladwell was speaking at work today, unfortunately the auditorium was overflowing out the door and into the hallways. It was impossible to see or hear him, so I bailed. Listened to him on KUOW's show Weekday. If I could have seen him in person I would have liked to ask about how he decides how much data to put in the book and what kinds of data he left out.