TOW #4: IRB "Blink" (part one)

A book orchestrated to examine and explain the nuances of human thought, Blink, by Malcom Gladwell, is a very intriguing read. By blending elements of statistics, experiments, narratives, and studies, Blink provides a wide range of facts in order to help the audience understand why the mind processes information certain ways. Malcom Gladwell is a very well-known author who has written four other best-selling books and worked as a journalist for many years. Written for anyone who is interested in how their mind works, Gladwell’s book is very intellectually satisfying. The research happening in neurological and behavior sciences has advanced greatly throughout the past couple decades, leading to many fascinating breakthroughs that defy previously conceived ideas on the workings of the brain. By using anecdotes describing various examples, Gladwell is able to help his audience understand the purpose and points of his book. In his introduction, Gladwell begins his book with a story of how a museum discovered a statue they bought was a fraud after all of their scientific tests told them otherwise. He explains, “When Frederico Zeri and Evelyn Harrison and Thomas Hoving and Georgios Dontas – and all the others – looked at the kouros and felt an “intuitive repulsion,” they were absolutely right. In the first two seconds of looking – in a single glance – they were able to understand more about the essence of the statue than the team at the Getty was able to understand after fourteen months. Blink is about a book about those first two seconds” (Gladwell 8). By using dialogue from experts and citing specific examples, Gladwell not only makes his book more interesting but also greatly increases the story’s logos. Gladwell also uses varying sentence structure, utilizing syntax to his advantage to emphasis his important points. In the above quote, the last sentence stands out because it is very short in relation to the sentences preceding it. This allows it to become a bold statement; a very clear and clever way of defining the thesis. Gladwell provides his audience with compelling evidence and conclusions in a way that is logical as well as cohesive.