Blink

After some moving mishaps, I recently found myself book-less and browsing a friend's shelves for something to tide me over until my boxes arrived. I stumbled across Malcolm Gladwell's Blink, and while I know a number of people consider him to be a hack, I thought the book was an interesting examination into the decision-making process of individuals and institutions. Basically, Gladwell argues that there are situations where it makes sense to follow your first instinct over careful, reasoned analysis... but not always. Which left me in a bit of a tizzy: how am I supposed to know when to make weighted average spreadsheets and when to just follow my gut?!? ;)

But, tucked in the Afterword is the following explanation:

One of the questions that I've been asked over and over again since Blink came out is, When should we trust our instincts, and when should we consciously think things through? Well, here is a partial answer. On straightforward choices, deliberate analysis is the best. When questions of analysis and personal choice start to get complicated -- when we have to juggle many variables -- then our unconscious thought process may be superior... It seems as if [Sigmund Freud] agreed: "When making a decision of minor importance, I have always found it advantageous to consider all the pros and cons. In vital matters, however, such as the choice of a mate or profession, the decision should come from the unconscious, from somewhere within ourselves. In important decisions of personal life, we should be governed, I think, by the deep inner needs of our nature."

Makes sense to me!