« Business Blog Book Tour: Seth "Pinocchio" Godin | Main | Scott Sigler is cool »
Malcolm Gladwell is wrong
Like the book tour post below, this is going to be a long one. Here's the premise, you decide if the rest is worth a read.
In his new book Blink, Malcolm tells the story of a professor. In this story, one group spends a year with the professor, one spends a week, one an hour, and one watches just 5-minutes of video tape with no audio.
All their opinions regarding the professor are aligned.
Malcolm believes that this says a lot about how we form opinions. He believes it says a lot about how we make snap-decisions and stick to them.
I want him to eat his words...
Will I get him to do that now? I doubt it, he's made his (rather empirical) snap-decision already. I hope I make you think though...
In short, I think Malcolm's gone and got all caught up in his own theory. The above-mentioned story says very little about the audience, and a whole lot about the professor. What it says is that he's very consistent in his delivery. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I hated the book, I quite liked it actually, it's just that I feel his logic is flawed and one-sided, this is simply one example.
Lets look at it for a second.
Have you ever met someone that at first you really didn't like, then they ended up becoming one of your closest friends?
Have you ever been wrongly judged by someone based on a factor such as race, appearance, accent etc.? More importantly, have you ever managed to convince them that they're wrong?
Have you ever said to someone, "you've really disappointed me"?
Or "Wow, you've exceeded all my expectations."
Have you ever changed your mind?
Of course you have, the answer to all the above questions is more than likely, "Yes!".
Malcolm would say, and has said (worth a listen), "Nonsense". He believes that we thin-slice, perform near-magical rapid cognition, and make split-second judgments that last us a lifetime.
C'mon, am I seriously the only guy that's angry about this drivel? If this was the case, I'd never make any money at all.
Our opinions change, it's part of being human. One of the good parts actually. Only the pig-headed form opinions and stick to them for ever.
First impressions lie...!
Posted by Rich...! | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83452464069e200d8345e6f7969e2
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Malcolm Gladwell is wrong:
» Marriage: Bad Marriage May Make You Sick from You Sick Category:
Bad Marriage May Make You Sick Category: Health News Created: 3/30/2006 Last [Read More]
Tracked on 31 Mar 2006 12:12:28
» Karl Malone's Most Memorable Games from nine rebounds
his 17 field-goal attempts and was named the Most Valuable Player in a game [Read More]
Tracked on 1 Apr 2006 19:46:21
» MP3 Downloads, Full Albums, Latest Hits, MP3 Search from Global Media Search Engine
Big Mp3 Archive, Mp3 Search, Mp3 Albums, Mp3 Songs, Mp3 Software, Mp3 Traffic Exchange, Advertising... [Read More]
Tracked on 9 Apr 2006 13:36:18
» Furniture search by phrase: Fun Rugs from Searching the Catalog
Modern furniture design store : Contemporary lighting, cool accessories and ... with the exact phrase. with at least one of the words. without the words ... [Read More]
Tracked on 11 Apr 2006 21:15:49
» US stocks decline as interest rate fears resurface
(Reuters)
from the Federal Reserve
stocks fell on Monday as concern
that the Federal Reserve could prolong its campaign to increase
interest rates weighed on financial [Read More]
Tracked on 8 May 2006 09:05:48
» Rwanda: Congo No Longer Supports Rebels from president says
president says Congo no longer supports rebels who fled to country after 1994 genocide [Read More]
Tracked on 13 May 2006 08:01:51
» CIBER First Quarter 2006 Earnings Conference Call from at 11:00 a.m.
CBR News) will hold its quarterly conference call to discuss first quarter results on Wednesday, [Read More]
Tracked on 15 May 2006 12:47:49
» Jewelry Shop from Jewelry making, Tips from The Jeweler's bench - Jewelry making
The Gem and Jewelry World's foremost Resource on The Internet. ... The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography. Add Ganoksin Power Search to your website ...
[Read More]
Tracked on 24 May 2006 22:00:02
» Feds cite some progress in hurricane prep
(AP)
from against looting
protection against looting and violence, temporary housing for victims, a quick way to sign people up for aid. [Read More]
Tracked on 7 Jun 2006 05:01:13
» 'Is this the cure for ME?' from dramatic results
has produced dramatic results in people with chronic fatigue syndrome, reported the Daily Mail (16 May 2006). The newspaper report appears [Read More]
Tracked on 10 Jun 2006 12:55:38
» GTSI names VP of customer advocacy from according to
16 years with AT&T, working with Mountain Bell and USWest, where she held various senior positions. After working at USWest, she started [Read More]
Tracked on 10 Jun 2006 18:17:46
» Monday 15 June 1663 from hee had discovered
I ever saw. My Lord replied thus: Sir John, what do you think of your neighbours wife? looking [Read More]
Tracked on 19 Jun 2006 09:49:44
» Bear Stearns net up 81 percent from estimates, as
as strong trading results boosted its key fixed income business.
[Read More]
Tracked on 20 Jun 2006 19:54:44
» Research Links Protein To Breast-cancer Migration from step closer to
how breast cancer spreads to other parts of the body, thanks to research published this week. [Read More]
Tracked on 21 Jun 2006 01:15:43
Comments
The point is, you're supposed to buy the book. Who cares if his logic is flawed? Buy the book. Who cares if he cut corners in his research? Buy the book.
Shorter me: Yes, I'm angry about the drivel. But you're not going to get him to eat his words, he's too busy laughing his way to the bank.
(Sorry about the cheap plug...!)
Posted by: Ethan | 24 May 2005 17:22:52
I like your picture. It's pretty!
Posted by: Don | 24 May 2005 17:23:08
(I messed up the link to my cheap plug. Hurrah! Serves me right.)
Posted by: Ethan | 24 May 2005 17:23:57
Haha, now I'm curious though, please post the link again.
Don, thanks dude, made it myself...!
Posted by: Rich...! | 24 May 2005 18:49:57
Here is the fixed link. Enjoy...!
(It's your favo(u)rite series of all time.) :-)
Posted by: Ethan | 24 May 2005 19:18:50
http://www.thevisionthing.com/aybbam_archive.php
is the link I think.
:)
Posted by: ../Ant | 24 May 2005 19:19:49
Damn U Ethan, beat me to it - at least I got it right :P
Posted by: ../Ant | 24 May 2005 19:29:02
Yes, I have had that thing with disliking at first someone who later becomes a good friend.
And I think you're attacking a straw man. Gladwell suggests that the fast intuitions are not infallible. He says sometimes this thin-slicing turns out right and other times wrong. In some of his examples, he shows experts who can make snap assessments right where mere mortals have no hope.
The PR johnnies for the book are emphasising the upside of intuition, whereas Gladwell does show both sides of the story.
Some critics pan him for not being clear; I think he does a good job of illuminating the uncertainty of our intuition.
Posted by: Johnnie Moore | 24 May 2005 19:34:40
Do we really need a whole book to tell us that our intuitions are sometimes wrong though?
Also, I disagree that I am attacking a straw man here, download that audiobook and listen to the story I'm reffering to.
From the first chapter of Blink, I felt that Gladwell simply saw the facts he wanted to see. I'd happily debate this point by point...!
Posted by: Rich...! | 24 May 2005 19:51:30
I have the book in my sticky paws. Chapter 3 is called "The Warren Harding Error" and is based on the specific example of the choice of Warren Harding as President. This is an explicit example of Thin Slicing getting it wrong.
This is a strange argument, Rich. First you seem to suggest Gladwell is implying these intuitions are always right. When I suggest he's got a different story you drop that argument in favour of attacking the book for stating the obvious (that they're sometimes wrong).
Then in the next sentence you go back to saying, no, he is saying the are right.
Chapter 1 is looking at interesting cases of thin slicing right. Others look at the flip side.
I found the stories fascinating.
For me the most interesting point is that we are often doing this thin slicing out of awareness, but dressing up intuitions as something more rational. That seems a pretty interesting challenge to much conventional business book thinking which drones on with logical case studies.
If you really want to argue, let's do a podcast!
Posted by: Johnnie Moore | 24 May 2005 20:22:50
I'm not much for commenting, but Rich...!, I think you're being unfair in your original post. As is Ethan. Malcolm's a friend and I can state with certainty that he didn't write the book to make money and that the "buy the book" stuff is just plain wrong.
The point of his book, like mine, is to get you to think, not to state the absolute facts (if there is such a thing). You pay your $20 US and you get hours or days worth of thinking. Seems like a great deal to me! The books that aren't worth the money are the ones that don't make you think.
Ethan, feel free to disagree, but please don't feel the need to assert motives or call names. Thanks!
Posted by: seth godin | 24 May 2005 22:00:26
Johnnie, we're talking cross-purposes here, I expect though that this was my fault, it's never good to take one little example and base an entire argument on it.
Regardless of the validity of the thin slicing efforts, it's the concept that people don't change their minds that bother me, I don't dispute whether thin slicing is good or bad, I never said Malcolm did either. I simply suggested that I felt the theory that the judgements we make in the first 5-seconds do not actually stay with us for life.
Maybe this is better done in a podcast, but I felt chapter-1 was weak, the story centres around a few select characters that had a feeling the statue was fake (the "I told you so" brigade) it ignores all the other experts that saw it and believed it was authentic. What about their snap-judgements? Perhaps the former crowd were just nay-sayers that got it right. It's like fortune-telling, people only remember the hits.
There are inconsistencies too, read page 149, then read page 167, do you see it? I also felt the recollections of policemen from trauma situations lacked credibility.
Having said all that, Seth, I enjoyed the book, to quote the above-linked review:
"I love reading a good book, and while I believe the author was clutching at straws with the content, I thought he presented those straws with the mastery of a thriller writer, I just couldn't put it down. As far as I'm concerned that's more than enough to warrant giving it a read. Also, as Todd S. has shown, it's a really great book to start a conversation with. So I'm with him, read it."
So I don't think I was overly harsh, in the ITConversations podcast I linked to, Malcolm made very hard statements, "Nonsense!", I simply replied in kind, or at least, intended to.
If Malcolm would give me the time to chat about this while we're at TED, I would happily listen to him with an open-mind. Here's hoping.
Was the book worth the price of admission. Undoubtedly. But that's because it got a conversation like this started in the first place...!
Posted by: Rich...! | 24 May 2005 22:42:49
"Ethan, feel free to disagree, but please don't feel the need to assert motives or call names."
Sorry, but I'll assert whatever I bloody well please. My opinion, you don't have to like it. (BTW, who called names? Seriously. I've scrolled up and down this page and am at a loss for where that came from.)
And yes, it IS about selling the book. I wasn't necessarily laying that at Malcolm Gladwell's feet (there's that whole "publishing industry" thing), but I don't think he's complaining.
(Sorry to hijack your comments box Rich...!)
Posted by: Ethan | 24 May 2005 23:26:25
I agree with Rich...!
I'm surprised that Seth is defending this guy's book. And asking, or telling someone to not call names.
Not call names? You mean like "liar"? As in "All Marketers Are Liars"?
Seth, lighten up, dude. It's just a book.
I will not read this book, which is clearly muddle headed. don't have time to waste reading a book that is illogical, unproven, wild, occultish, and superstitious.
Instant Understanding?
Not even the mystics worth paying attention to claim this occurs except maybe in some exalted State of Consciousness, and then what's instant is introspective insight, not assessing external world data.
Thanks for being contrarian.
Most popular best selling books suck anyway. No offense to the great books, like Seth Godin's or Tom Peter's or Harvey MacKay's.
Stay Bloggeristically opinionated and snarly.
Bloggers are supposed to be Grrrates.
Right?
Posted by: steven streight aka vaspers the grate | 29 May 2005 12:44:13
P.S. Don't give me that BS about an author not writing a book to make money but to spread information and start conversations.
How dumb do we look?
LOL
Posted by: steven streight aka vaspers the grate | 29 May 2005 12:48:30
I agree that the example of the teacher does not prove anything about the powers of thin slicing.
There are too many variables that were not included in the analysis. Did they take a good looking, well presented teacher that was already well liked by his students for one clip and a dishevelled unlikeable teacher for the other clip? Of course most people would choose the good looking teacher of the dishevelled teacher.
I thought the book was enjoyable and easy to read but didn't think it taught me how to think easier. Also if he was trying to say there is a way we can learn how to become better at making quick decisions he failed.
It order to do so one would have to remove all biases and that is not possible. Gut decesions are what they are, some turn out good and some don't.
Posted by: Matt S | 2 Jun 2005 04:11:26
You've got to say something positive about a book that elicits emotional comments. I haven’t read it and probably won’t – I’ll be busy reading that one about Lying Marketers – I hear the author tells a good story.
BTW - I guess if the author wasn't out to make money he wouldn't mind if I pirated his work for my own distribution then huh? After all, he only wants it to be read and discussed for the further good of human thought.
Posted by: Bruce DeBoer | 4 Jun 2005 19:32:19
Interesting post. I've just read 'The tipping point' and thought it was fascinating. 'Blink' is next on my list.
Of course one should always read these books with some distance. Nobody's right 100% on things like that.
Posted by: Daldianus | 7 Jun 2005 15:13:36
Here's the thing, I enjoyed the book, I thought it was a great fun read, I just felt it was factually weak (read: wrong). In a book of this nature, that's not a small thing, that's almost everything.
You should read it though, then let me know your thoughts...!
Posted by: Rich...! | 9 Jun 2005 21:59:36
I thought that the first half of his book was extremely insightful and used theories that i had never considered before. I agree that some of his facts need more backround but if his book used as much detail as we would have liked it would of at least tripled in size. I think the points that he is trying to make come across clearly. Thin slicing is an excellent way make decisions if you know how and when to use it. Who would have guessed that someone could determine if a marriage would last just by a short video of the couple interacting with a very high accuracy.
The second half of the book began losing my interestespecially when he bagan talking about facial expressions and all the different muscles etc, in the face. I think that this book accompanied by some sort of visual reference, i.e. a video of some of the couples that were looked at, videos of temporary autism, etc., would make it much more interesting and give more meaning to his examples.
Posted by: kyle13 | 14 Jun 2005 21:46:51
I thought that the first half of his book was extremely insightful and used theories that i had never considered before. I agree that some of his facts need more backround but if his book used as much detail as we would have liked it would of at least tripled in size. I think the points that he is trying to make come across clearly. Thin slicing is an excellent way make decisions if you know how and when to use it. Who would have guessed that someone could determine if a marriage would last just by a short video of the couple interacting with a very high accuracy.
The second half of the book began losing my interestespecially when he bagan talking about facial expressions and all the different muscles etc, in the face. I think that this book accompanied by some sort of visual reference, i.e. a video of some of the couples that were looked at, videos of temporary autism, etc., would make it much more interesting and give more meaning to his examples.
Posted by: kyle13 | 14 Jun 2005 21:47:19
You're wrong.
If you actually read the book, you find that Malcolm does state that we make such split-second decisions. However, he also points out several times that those decisions are not always correct or consistent with longer-term analysis.
You missed the value of the book if you think Blink is about people making CORRECT decisions in a split-second.
Posted by: Jason | 16 Jan 2006 18:30:18
No no dude, I'm not wrong. I did read the book, and Gladwell did make many broad statements regarding the validity of thin slicing (look at the couples and the divorce rate, the record company and the artists, the museum and the statue)
Regardless of accuracy though I also disagree with the principle that people put as much weight in those split second opinions as Gladwell suggests. People often change their mind on people and things.
What I'd like to understand is what you describe as "the value of Blink", it was an interesting, and really good read, but I cant say that I got any value from it.
I'm genuinely interested in what you took away from it...!
Posted by: Rich...! | 16 Jan 2006 19:02:45
