What Did You Learn About The Fast, Intuitive Information Processing Called Thin Slicing?

Submitted By Ishav-Shukla
Words: 1317
Pages: 6

Blink Reflection
Goal: Demonstrate knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of the text Blink by completing various writing tasks and assembling them into a creative newsletter.

You may use all the written work that you completed from this unit: Levels of Questions, Text Charting for Ch. 2-3, and Reader Response Chart for Ch. 4-5.
Choose your newsletter template in Microsoft Word. You will need 2 pages.
Type right on the newsletter template OR plan on this word document and copy/paste. Be sure your answers are thorough enough and are written in complete sentences.
Double check to make sure you have all the parts you need and proofread your work!
All the formatting, color schemes, fonts, etc. are your call, but be sure the work is legible.
Use a print card to print in the library or print at home if you have a color printer.
Thin Slicing
1. What did you learn about the fast, intuitive information processing called thin slicing? What are 2 examples of positive and 2 examples of negative aspects of using this kind of thinking?
Positive
An example of a positive aspect of thin-slicing is that you can predict if a certain situation is going to occur in someone’s life or not. The author clearly incorporates this by adding,” Can a marriage really be understood in one sitting? Yes it can, and so can lots of other seemingly complex situations. (Gladwell 11)” This shows that we can use thin-slicing to predict a “coming” situation which can be very helpful.

Another example of a positive aspect of thin-slicing that we can make quick inferences without having our conscious mind to do the thinking. This is shown in the sentence, “If you see alphabetized CDs, a Harvard diploma on the wall, incense on a side table, and laundry neatly stacked in a hamper, you know certain aspects about that individual’s personality instantly, in a way that you may not be able to grasp if all you ever do is spend time with him or her directly. (Gladwell 17)”This shows that thin-slicing can be used to make rapid comprehension and which can also be very helpful.

Negative

Sometimes we can also have negative stereotypes that ruin our judgments. An example shown by the author is,” Most of us have difficulty believing that a 275-pound football lineman could have a lively and discerning intellect. We just can’t get past the stereotype of the dumb jock. (Gladwell 17)” This shows how there is also a misinterpretation side of thin-slicing.

Another example of a negative aspect of thin-slicing is that you have to meet the person personally. This is stated in the sentence,” If you want to know how animated and talkative and outgoing someone is, clearly, you have to meet him or her in person. (Gladwell 17)” This is a negative aspect of thin-slicing because then you can’t just inference about a person by looking at his room or something like that.
(Support your answer with directly quoted text evidence from the book. Put author/page number and adequately explain the examples you use from the book.) Example: (Gladwell 23)

Text-Self
2. Explain the impact Blink can have or has had on your own life. As you talk about these personal connections, be sure to support them with cited references from the text (direct quotations or paraphrases.)
The impact that Blink can have in my life is that I might be able to look successful people’s lives’, see the patterns that are visible and in the end follow them in those same footsteps. The point that success is related to the steps taken, is shown by the author where it says, “In Blink you’ll meet doctors and generals and coaches and furniture designers and musicians and actors and car salesmen and countless others, all of whom are very good at what they do and all of whom owe their success, at least in part, to the steps they have taken to shape and manage and educate their unconscious reactions.(Gladwell 8)” This shows that the author also thinks that success is related to the steps