Today i finished reading blink by Malcom Gladwell. It was a very belated birthday gift from my mother who ordered it months ago along with a book that had not yet been published. Amazon waited until they were both available -- hence the delay.
It's my second book in a row shedding some light on how the brain works. In this book, Gladwell talks about how we make decisions/judgments with very little data without our consciousness even being aware of it. There are both benefits and drawbacks to this behavior and Gladwell points this out through various interesting anecdotes and studies. He even explores the world of improv comedy, quoting Keith Johnstone and Del Close. He made comparisons with actors in that genre to doctors, military generals, and firefighters. I found the book to be more entertaining than informative; that is, i don't there is anything practical you can do with the information in the book, but it is interesting.
I think this will be the last book i get to finish in my inter-semester reading binge. I don't know exactly what it is that puts me in the mood to read in between semesters but it just seems to work out that way. Perhaps my brain likes to stay active so starting up classes again isn't such a shock on the system. I did start an uber-geeky math book but i doubt i will finish it before Monday. I'd probably be better off spending more time with my Clac 2 notes to make sure i'm prepared to jump right in to Calc 3.
Posted by Matthew at August 27, 2005 10:43 PM