Decisions: The Work of Conscious and Subconscious Mind Alike

For the second term book length argument my group read “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell.  I am slightly disturbed by their initial doubt of the quality of the book.  In the end everyone enjoyed reading it and discussing some material that would not normally be brought up in a communication class.  The book delves deep into the subconscious mind.  In a blend of examples and scientific data he describes the capability of our brain to make instant decisions in the blink of an eye.  Gladwell focuses on the idea of thin slicing, the ability to make judgments based on slight aspects of facial expression, art, or music.  He included a variety of studies done by professionals in many fields, like recognition of facial expressions, analysis of relationships, and subconscious preferences.  The latter most quite convincingly proved that I am both racist and sexist with subconscious correlations of different genders and races, and emotions.  Gladwell revealed to me the immense and a complex working of our inner most brain, and relates them to society and our interactions with each other.

The documentary that we watched to supplement the book was “How to Make Better Decisions” produced by BBC.  The documentary focused more on the conscious decisions that we make every day, how to control our brains, and not let it get the better of us.  This included using math formulas to decide whether or not to buy a pair of shoes, or our chances of picking someone up in a bar, information about how our surrounding environment will affect the decisions we make, and our uncanny ability to predict and anticipate the future.  Through the studies of scientists and psychologists the documentary provided tips to be aware of when making decisions.

Both included examples of what happens when certain parts of the brain do not correctly.  In Blink Gladwell gives an example of Josh, a high functioning autistic man.  Normally abled people have been conditioned and know how to act in social situations.  They can look at the expressions on another’s face and tell what they are feeling or infer more about what they are saying.  With autistic people like Josh, lack this ability to pick up on the slight clues, and thus are not as socially proficient.  In the documentary BBC interviewed a woman who had had a brain hemorrhage.  It cost her the ability to make rational decisions.  She could not weigh the pros and cons of situations in the quick way that you or I could.

Together the documentary and the book provided a full view of the brain, and how it perceives information, and then how it reacts to this information.  Both gave convincing arguments on a different topic.  They were fun to read and watch, and made my brain spin thinking about thinking about thinking.