Reflection - Book Report/Review Example

The book has received attention from all sorts of readers who are interested in understanding the concept of thin slicing. This paper will present a reflection on the content presented in the book. Upon reading Gladwell’s book, it became evident that the aspect of thin slicing is very intriguing. It is amazing to realize that the human brain has the capacity to scheme the available information in milliseconds and make an accurate decision. This becomes more interesting when compared to the long time taken to make other decisions yet an individual makes a wrong one in the end.

This instant capacity of the brain to make accurate decisions explains why it is possible to recognize when an individual is in a bad mood. Evidently, the unconscious mind comes into place so instantly that many people do not take notice of its capacity. This is true from a personal experience. There are many times when I meet people and I have a bad gut feeling. Sometimes I brush it off and try to refocus on gathering adequate information before making judgments. There are cases when in the end, I just realize that my initial instincts were right (Gladwell 10).

However, I agree with Gladwell when he says that it is difficult for us to realize that the unconscious mind played a critical role in decision-making. His explanation for this is logical. He highlights that many people will justify the decision made without giving regard to the thin slicing capacity of the brain. One of the interesting examples presented in the book is about a statue bought by a certain museum in Los Angelis. It emerges that the museum undertook all the investigation procedures prior to making the purchase.

However, the preliminary research revealed that the statue was authentic. The experts who examined the statue after its purchase did not agree with the findings of the preliminary research. Upon examining it, they developed negative feelings. This necessitated the re-investigation of