Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (2007, Paperback, Reprint)

In Blink, Malcolm Gladwell offers his account of humanity's seemingly instantaneous judgment in critical situations. The book features a series of fascinating anecdotal case studies, skilled interweavings of psychological experiments, explanations, and unexpected connections which have become part of Gladwell's writing style since Tipping Point.

At the outset of Blink, he illustrates how incredibly complex decisions are often made in the matter of seconds: experts on Greek art, who had no vested interest in judging a rare 6th-century sculpture of a youth as authentic, sensed immediately that it was fake. But Gladwell points out that if expertise, or mere accumulated experiences sufficed, humans could unerringly trust these decisions made as rapidly as the blink of an eye, but, as he illustrates through several counterpuntal stories, such blinks can also be deceptive. It should be noted that he seems to stretch some of his examples to conform to his blink-of-an-eye theory.

Gladwell is an impressive synthesizer and is, in that sense, a model for both teachers and students. Because of his skills as a journalist, the book is accurate and informative -- complete with numerous anecdotes. Blink is a satisfying and informative read, but not as scholarly as some might have you believe.