The police shot an innocent man. Specialists for the year
Research could not establish the fakeness of the statue. Warren Harding, a mediocre and unlucky politician, was elected to the presidency of the United States in 1921. Why did these happen? fatal mistakes? Could they have been avoided? In his fascinating book Insight Malcolm Gladwell, author of the bestselling book The Tipping Point, analyzes the decision-making process. Using rich material from the fields of art, science, design, medicine, politics and business, he reveals the patterns of unconscious decisions and analyzes the factors that distort this process. The book will be of interest to psychologists, political scientists, marketers - all specialists whose success depends on the ability to accept important decisions(sometimes under conditions of acute time shortage), as well as a wide range of readers interested in the latest achievements of psychology.
Don't rack your brains - catch a glimpse of the truth!
about the author
Acknowledgments
Introduction. A statue that had something wrong with it
Chapter 1. The theory of thin slices: how to achieve a lot knowing little
Chapter 2. Closed door: secret nature instant decisions
Chapter 3. The Warren Harding mistake: is it worth losing your head at the sight of tall, handsome brunettes?
Chapter 4. A great victory Paul Van Riper: Building the Structure of Spontaneity
Chapter 5: Kenna's Dilemma: Is It Possible to Find Out What People Really Want?
Chapter 6. Seven Seconds in the Bronx: The Subtle Art of Mind Reading
Introduction.
A statue that had something wrong with it
In September 1983, an art dealer named Gianfranco Becchina approached the Paul Getty Museum in California. He stated that he had come into possession of a marble statue dating back to the 6th century BC. e. It was a kouros - a sculptural image of a naked young athlete with his arms outstretched at his sides and his left leg extended forward. Currently, approximately two hundred kouros are known, most of them found in burial sites, severely damaged or only in the form of fragments. However, this specimen, approximately seven feet high, is almost perfectly preserved, which is surprising in itself. This was an exceptional find! Gianfranco Becchina asked ten million dollars for her.
The Getty Museum workers were in no hurry. They took the statue to themselves and began careful research. In style it did not differ from other kouros, in particular from the so-called kouros of Anavissos from the National archaeological museum in Athens, which made it possible to roughly date it and determine its place of origin. Becchina did not know exactly where or when the statue was discovered, but provided the museum's legal department with a set of documents relating to its recent history. Judging by them, since the 1930s, the kouros was in the private collection of a certain Lauffenberger, a Swiss doctor, who at one time acquired it from a famous Greek art dealer named Roussos.
The Getty Museum invited Stanley Margolis, a geologist at the University of California, who spent two days examining the surface of the statue using a powerful stereomicroscope. He then chipped off a piece about two centimeters long and a centimeter in diameter from under the right knee of the statue and carefully analyzed it using an electron microscope, electron microanalyzer, mass spectrometry, radiography and x-ray fluorescence. The statue was made of dolomite marble, which was mined in ancient times in a quarry on the island of Thassos. In addition, Margolis discovered that the surface of the statue was covered with a thin layer of calcite, which is very important because dolomite turns into calcite after hundreds, if not thousands of years. In other words, the statue was ancient. There was nothing to indicate that this was a modern fake.
The Getty Museum workers were satisfied. Fourteen months after the start of the research, they agreed to purchase the kouros. In the fall of 1986, the statue was put on public display for the first time. Newspaper New York Times responded to this event with an article on the front page. A few weeks later, Marion True, curator of ancient art at the Getty Museum, wrote a detailed and vivid account of the museum's acquisition in an art journal. Burlington Magazine.
“Standing straight, without additional support, with hands firmly pressed to the hips, the kouros radiates a powerful vitality characteristic of most of his brothers."
True ended the article pathetically:
“Whether God or man, he personifies the energy and power inherent in Western art in its youth.”
Yet something was wrong with the kouros. The first to notice this was the historian, specialist in Italian art, Federico Zeri, member board of trustees Getty Museum when he visited the museum's restoration workshop in December 1983 to take a look at the kouros. He paid attention to his nails. The scientist could not accurately express his impression, but the nails were somehow different. Evelyn Harrison, one of the world's most famous experts on Greek sculpture, was the next to doubt. On the eve of the deal with Beccina, Evelyn was in Los Angeles at the invitation of the Getty Museum.
“Arthur Houghton, who was in charge of the storage department at the time, took us down to the lower room where the sculpture was,” Harrison recalls. “He tore the covers off her and said, 'She's not ours yet, but she'll be ours in just a couple of weeks.' And I said, 'I'm sorry to hear that.'"
What did Harrison notice? She didn't even know herself. At the very moment when Houghton removed the coverlet, a vague suspicion flashed through her mind. A few months later, Arthur Houghton invited the Getty to the Museum former director New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art Thomas Hoving to show him the statue. Hoving always trusts his first impression and remembers the first word that comes to mind when he sees something new. When they showed him the kouros, the thought flashed through his head: “new girl, completely new.” Hovingh recalls: “‘New Girl’ was a strange reaction to a statue that’s two thousand years old.” Later, returning to this moment, Hoving realized why this particular word came to his mind.
“I was excavating in Sicily, and we often found fragments of kouros. They never looked So. This one looked like it had been dipped in the best latte from Starbucks».
After examining the kouros, Hovingh turned to Houghton: “Did you pay for it?”
Houghton, Hoving remembers, looked shocked.
“If so, try to get your money back,” Hovingh said. “If not, don’t bother paying.”
The Getty Museum workers were alarmed and organized a special symposium in Greece dedicated to the kouros. They carefully packed the statue, transported it to Athens and invited the most famous sculpture experts in the country. This time the chorus of rejection was even louder.
Insight: The Power of Instant Decisions - Malcolm Gladwell (download)
(introductory fragment of the book)
Our brain is used to make decisions.
- The first strategy is to consciously record and process information, weigh the pros and cons, and come to a rational conclusion about the best way solving the problem. This strategy requires a lot of time, which is often not enough.
- The second strategy is faster, it was born in the course of evolution. The subconscious mind instantly draws conclusions based on intuitive feelings rather than careful analysis.
The second strategy allows the brain to release the stress of a complex thought process from the subconscious. Unbeknownst to us, the unconscious part of the brain instantly analyzes situations and chooses the optimal actions.
Many people tend to trust only conscious judgments. But hasty decisions based on feelings are often better than those made as a result of comprehensive analysis.
Example. Tennis experts can intuitively predict when a player will make an incorrect serve, but cannot pinpoint the cause. Art critics can identify a fake at a glance simply because they experience a strange sensation, and are able to rationally explain their hasty judgment only after some time.
In many situations there are patterns and regularities, and the subconscious recognizes them faster. This is when you should trust hasty decisions.
The subconscious mind can distinguish between important and unnecessary information in a split second.
Scrupulousness can be useful, but in making decisions it is pointless to consider the situation to the smallest detail. It's more effective to focus on a few important facts.
Example. You want to accurately predict whether a couple's relationship will last. Then it's worth focusing on a few key features. So, if you notice a shadow of contempt in their communication, this is an indication that problems are just around the corner. But if you start analyzing, it will be difficult to do accurate forecast, since the flow of unnecessary information will hide the important one. If you observe the position of the legs, posture and conversation of the couple, then you can miss the really important indicators - their contemptuous glances.
Our subconscious often filters information, leaving out the important parts necessary for accurate conclusions.
Hasty decisions are successful because the subconscious mind is incredibly good at filtering. Not in vain family psychologists know what signals (for example, notes of contempt) to pay attention to in a couple’s relationship. Spontaneous decisions are also based on selection small volume important information.
We jump to more conclusions than we realize and then come up with rational explanations for them.
IN Everyday life we constantly jump to conclusions.
Example. Already when we meet, we know whether we will feel attracted to a person. The football player is helped by the “goalkeeper instinct”, which automatically moves him to a scoring position. And some investors even listen to the pain in their lower back, which “tells” them that it’s time to sell stocks. All these decisions are made by the subconscious.
Many people tend to trust facts and figures rather than feelings and intuition. But they usually come up with logical explanations for their hasty conclusions.
We may have a clear idea of the traits of an ideal romantic partner, but once we meet someone, we forget about our “list.” We simply intuitively understand whether we like a person.
More often than not, an intuitive decision contradicts rational judgment.
Decisions are strongly influenced by associations
The subconscious influences our actions specifically.
Example. In one study, people were asked to take a quiz. They were divided into two groups and given a task: the first group was asked to think of themselves as a professor, and the second - as a football fan. As a result, the first group gave more correct answers. Associations influenced players' performance.
Also, subconscious associations constantly influence our behavior.
Example. We have learned to unconsciously associate attributes such as “white,” “male,” and “tall” with qualities such as power and competence. Even if we don't think that a tall, light-skinned man is more competent than a short African-American woman, most form these associations unconsciously. Studies have shown that it is easier for a tall “white” man to have a career. Every centimeter of height translates into a big salary, and positions in top management are occupied exclusively by white men with above average height.
It is important to know that associations can lead to serious mistakes.
Example. Warren Harding was elected President of the United States after the end of World War I because voters thought he "looked presidential." However, he did not have the necessary skills and qualities, and today he is considered one of the worst presidents of all time.
Stress can cause poor decisions
You will be surprised to know that you have telepathic abilities? In fact, everyone can read minds. To do this, you just need to look at a person’s face: emotions will show what exactly he is thinking about.
It has been proven that the expression of emotions is universal. Anyone in any part of the world can identify a happy, angry or sad facial expression. But some people (for example, those suffering from autism) understand only unambiguously transmitted information and are not able to “read” the faces of other people.
Even healthy people can temporarily develop autism stressful situations and under time pressure. When stressed, we often ignore indirect signals (facial expressions), paying attention directly to the “threat” - the most meaningful information("blindsighted view").
Example. Blind-mindedness can cause police to shoot innocent people. Focusing on possible danger in the form of a weapon, they can even take a black wallet as a threat.
To avoid such “autism”, you need to calm down and avoid stressful situations. Stress is higher a certain level completely blocks logical thinking process, and people become unpredictable.
Market research does not always show actual consumer behavior
A marketer determines which products will sell well in the market and which will not. But it is often difficult to predict consumer behavior.
Example. Once upon a time, Coca-Cola conducted a series of taste tests and determined that its competitor (Pepsi) was much better. The company then changed the recipe and released a product called "New Coke." All taste tests showed that the drink should become a bestseller. But as a result, New Coke became one of biggest failures and later left the market. But how could marketers get it so wrong?
The tests were simply carried out under the wrong conditions: tasters judged the products based on just one sip. Have you ever drunk Coca-Cola this way? Because of the unrealistic conditions, the assessment had nothing to do with customer behavior later. For the actual demonstration, tasters had to leisurely sip the drink at home, comfortably seated on the sofa.
Consumers usually evaluate new products negatively when first tested. For customers to like a new product, they must first get used to it.
Constantly try new things to get rid of prejudices
With help association tests psychologists have proven that racial prejudice is deeply ingrained in people.
Example. Many US citizens associate positive traits rather with the word "white" than with the word "African American". Surprisingly, this kind of unconscious bias is popular even among the black population. The subconscious mind simply learns through observation. Current ruling class The US is made up almost entirely of white people, so American citizens have developed an association between white skin and power.
Prejudice incorrectly influences our daily behavior.
Example. Skin color, gender and height shape how a person is perceived during an interview.
To avoid becoming a victim of prejudice, try to change your subconscious attitudes. To do this, meet new people and try new things.
Example. One subject was able to temporarily forget his prejudices against blacks while watching a competition athletics, where the US team consisted almost entirely of African Americans. The effect of skin color on judgments was blunted, as the subject rooted for the team with all his heart.
To avoid bad hasty decisions, ignore unnecessary information.
To avoid negative influence prejudices and stereotypes, consciously protect yourself from potentially erroneous information.
Example. Previously, the prevailing opinion was that only men could be professional musicians (violinists or double bassists). Women, regardless of talent, were uncompetitive. To overcome this problem, the music industry has begun using screens during auditions that hide the musician so that they are judged solely on performance. Thanks to this innovation, many talented women musicians appeared in orchestras around the world.
Sometimes denying a hasty conclusion can be as easy as deliberately ignoring unnecessary information.
The most important
The human brain can make hasty decisions instantly. They are sometimes better than conscious analysis, but can also lead to poor choices and unfair evaluations of people.
Before releasing a new product, test it in real conditions
If a company is launching a new product and you need to conduct market research, recreate the same conditions under which consumers would use the product in real life. Otherwise, reviews about the product will be completely unreliable.
Avoid temporary autism
Any healthy man falls into a state of autism in stressful situations or under time pressure. By concentrating too much on something, you can miss important indirect signals (facial expressions), which can lead to a fatal mistake.
You use your intuition more often than you think
Even when you think you have rationally analyzed the situation and come up with a convincing rationale for your choice, you rely on intuition to back you up. Remember that intuition can and should be used in certain situations.
journalist, sociologist, laureate of many various awards and bonuses. He was included in the top 100 most influential people of our time according to Time magazine in 2005. His work touches on the unexpected and difficult questions devices human mind, psyche, human interaction with society and the outside world. His book is based on many tests, surveys and experiments conducted by a group of reputable scientists.
Here is an example of one of them: during the experiment, students were divided into three equal groups, each of which was shown the same video recording of a speech by a lecturer unfamiliar to them. The recording was broadcast without sound for 10 seconds for the first group, 5 seconds for the second and 2 seconds for the third. After this, the subjects had to 
evaluate the professionalism of the speaker. Surprisingly, based on the first (intuitive) impression, almost all students gave an answer that was close to reality. This experiment was repeated several times with various groups subjects and test objects, but the result was always almost the same.
The results of Malcolm Gladwell's experiments show that unconscious, intuitive decision making is often better than decisions made based on long deliberation. Often the first impression is the only correct one. This means that you need to be able to pay attention to the manifestations of the unconscious reaction of the brain.
It only takes 2 seconds for our brain to process a colossal amount of information and form a first impression. That means making the right decision also shouldn't 
to take a lot of time. Malcolm Gladwell in his book Insight. The Power of Instant Decisions" talks about how to learn to understand and use the unconscious, intuitive cues of our brain so that you can use them when making decisions. Moreover, in this work we're talking about about what prevents us from accepting right decisions, and how to get rid of these interferences.
Unfortunately we cannot accommodate detailed retelling books, and the techniques described in it are within the scope of the article, therefore the Happylifeguide team recommends subscribers the book by Malcolm Gladwell “Insight. The Power of Instant Decisions" for independent reading!
Watch Malcolm Gladwell's interview ( English language and Russian subtitles)
The police did not understand the confusion and shot the unarmed man. Over the course of a year of research, specialists were unable to establish that the statue was fake, but one researcher realized this instantly. Warren Harding, a mediocre and unlucky politician, was elected to the presidency of the United States in 1921, but voters liked him so much. Why did these fatal mistakes happen? Could they have been avoided? When should you trust your first impression, and when should you think about it? In his fascinating book, Malcolm Gladwell analyzes the decision-making process. Using rich material from the fields of art, science, design, medicine, politics and business, he reveals the patterns of unconscious decisions and analyzes the factors that distort this process. The book will be of interest to all specialists whose success depends on the ability to make important decisions (sometimes under conditions of acute time pressure), as well as to a wide range of readers interested in the latest achievements of psychology.
* * *
The given introductory fragment of the book The power of instant decisions. Intuition as a Skill (Malcolm Gladwell, 2005) provided by our book partner - the company liters.
Acknowledgments
Several years ago, before writing this book, I grew long hair. I used to always cut my hair very short and conservative. And then, following a whim, I decided to let go of the real mane that I wore in early years. My life immediately changed dramatically. I started getting tickets for speeding, which had never happened before. They began to take me out of the queue at the airport for a more thorough search. And one day, as I was walking down Fourteenth Street in midtown Manhattan, a police car pulled up to the sidewalk and three police officers jumped out. As it turned out, they were looking for a rapist who, according to them, was very similar to me. They showed me an identikit and a description. I took one look at it all and told them as kindly as I could that in fact the rapist was nothing like me. He was much taller, much bigger, and about fifteen years younger than me (and, in a futile attempt to make it a joke, I added that he was not nearly as good-looking as I was). All he and I have in common is a mop of curly hair. After about twenty minutes, the police officers agreed with me and let me go. On the background global problems I decided that this was a simple misunderstanding. African-Americans in the United States constantly endure far greater indignities than this. But I was struck by how vague and absurd it was stereotypical thinking in my case: there was nothing really obvious, such as skin color, age, height or weight. It was just about the hair. The first impression of my hair swept aside all other considerations in the pursuit of the rapist. This street episode made me think about the hidden power of first impressions. And these thoughts led to the creation of “The Power of Instant Decisions.” Therefore, I believe that before I thank anyone else, I owe it to three police officers to express my gratitude.
And now my most sincere gratitude, first, to David Remnick, editor New Yorker, who showed nobility and patience in allowing me to work on “The Power of Instant Decisions” alone for a year. I wish everyone a boss as good and generous as David. Publishing House Little, Brown, who treated me with great respect when I presented them with my book The Tipping Point, was no less generous to me this time. Thank you, Michael Pietsch, Jeff Shandler, Heather Fein, and most of all, Bill Phillips. These are the people who skillfully, thoughtfully and cheerfully turned my manuscript from nonsense into something harmonious and reasonable. Now I want to name my firstborn Bill. A huge number of his friends read the manuscript at various stages and gave me invaluable advice. They are Sarah Lyall, Robert McCrum, Bruce Headlam, Deborah Needleman, Jacob Weisberg, Zu Rosenfeld, Charles Randolph, Jennifer Watchell, Josh Liberzon, Elaine Blair and Tanya Simon. Emily Kroll conducted a study on the physical height of corporate directors for me. Joshua Aronson and Jonathan Schooler generously shared their academic experiences with me. The excellent staff at the Savoy Restaurant tolerated my long periods of sitting at the table by the window. Kathleen Lyon kept me happy and healthy. My favorite photographer in the world, Brooke Williams, took my signature photo. A few people, however, deserve special recognition. Terry Martin and Henry Finder (as in the case of " The turning point") provided lengthy and extremely helpful critiques of my early drafts. I'm happy that I have these smart friends. Susie Hansen and the incomparable Pamela Marshall made the text precise and clear and saved me from confusion and mistakes. As for Tina Bennett, I would have suggested that she be named CEO of Microsoft, or run for president, or be given some other similar appointment so that her intelligence, knowledge and generosity could help solve the world's problems - but then I no longer had would be an agent. Lastly, I thank my parents, Joyce and Graham Gladwell. They read this book as only a mother and father can: with passion, open-mindedness, and love. Thank you.
Don't rack your brains - catch a glimpse of the truth!
In his bestselling book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell revolutionized the way we think about the world around us. Now in “Illumination” he changes our ideas about the inner world. Insight is a book about how we, without thinking, make decisions in the blink of an eye, sometimes quite complex ones. Why do some people find it easy, while others find it impossible? Why do some people listen to their intuition and win, while others follow logic and make mistakes? How our consciousness works and why the most best solutions sometimes difficult to explain in words?
In Insight, Malcolm Gladwell talks about a psychologist who predicts whether a marriage will last after observing a couple for a few minutes; about a tennis coach who knows that a player will double miss before the ball even touches the racket; about art critics who recognized a fake at first sight.
But there are also fatal “insights”: the election of Warren Harding as US President, the release of New Coke, murder by police officers random person. The author shows that the best decisions are made not by those who process more information or spend more time thinking, but by those who have mastered the art of “thin slicing” - the ability to isolate a small number of significant factors from a huge number of variables. Based on latest achievements Sociologists and psychologists, Malcolm Gladwell is changing the way we think about decision making. You will never relate to your intuition the same way again.
In his new book Insight, Malcolm Gladwell examines the process of unconscious decision-making, drawing on a wealth of material from the fields of art, science, design, medicine, politics and business. This is not just useful, but also fascinating, exciting reading, opening the doors to the little-studied world of the unconscious, full of secrets. The book will be of interest not only to specialists, successful activity which depends on the ability to quickly make important decisions (psychologists, marketers, recruiters, politicians, negotiators), but also a wide range of readers.
Malcolm Gladwell is the author of the international bestseller The Tipping Point. He previously worked as a journalist and wrote about business and science for the newspaper. Washington Post, currently collaborating with New magazine Yorker. Malcolm Gladwell was born in the UK, raised in Canada, and currently lives in New York.
Acknowledgments
Several years ago, before I wrote Insight, I grew my hair long. I used to always cut my hair very short and conservative. And then, following a whim, I decided to let go of the real mane that I wore in my youth. My life immediately changed dramatically. I started getting tickets for speeding, which had never happened before. They began to take me out of the queue at the airport for a more thorough search. And one day, as I was walking down Fourteenth Street in midtown Manhattan, a police car pulled up to the sidewalk and three police officers jumped out. As it turned out, they were looking for a rapist who, according to them, was very similar to me. They showed me an identikit and a description. I took one look at it all and told them as kindly as I could that in fact the rapist was nothing like me. He was much taller, much bigger, and about fifteen years younger than me (and, in a futile attempt to make it a joke, I added that he was not nearly as good-looking as I was). All he and I had in common was a big head of curly hair. After about twenty minutes, the police officers agreed with me and let me go. Against the backdrop of global problems, I decided that this was a banal misunderstanding. African-Americans in the United States constantly endure far greater indignities than this. But I was struck by how vague and absurd the stereotyping was in my case: there was nothing really obvious, such as skin color, age, height or weight. It was just about the hair. The first impression of my hair swept aside all other considerations in the pursuit of the rapist. This street episode made me think about the hidden power of first impressions. And these thoughts led to the creation of Illumination. Therefore, I believe that before I thank anyone else, I owe it to those three police officers to express my gratitude.
And now my sincerest thanks, first, to David Remnick, New Yorker. Showing nobility and patience, he allowed me to work only on Insight for a year. I wish everyone a boss as good and generous as David. Little, Brown and Company, which treated me with great respect when I submitted my book The Tipping Point to them, was no less kind to me this time. Thank you, Michael Pietsch, Jeff Shandler, Heather Fein, and especially Bill Phillips. These are the people who skillfully and thoughtfully turned my manuscript from nonsense into something harmonious and reasonable. Now I want to name my firstborn Bill. A huge number of his friends read my manuscript at various stages of completion and gave me invaluable advice. They are Sarah Lyall, Robert McCrum, Bruce Headlam, Deborah Needleman, Jacob Weisberg, Zoe Rosenfeld, Charles Randolph, Jennifer Watchell, Josh Lieberson, Elaine Blair and Tanya Simon. Emily Kroll conducted a study on the physical height of corporate directors for me. Joshua Aronson and Jonathan Schooler generously shared their academic experiences with me. The wonderful staff at the Savoy Restaurant put up with me as I sat for hours at a table by the window. Kathleen Lyon kept me happy and healthy. My favorite photographer in the world, Brooke Williams, took my signature photo. There are several other people who deserve special thanks. This is Terry Martin and Henry Finder. As with The Tipping Point, they provided extensive and extremely helpful critiques of my early drafts. I'm happy to have such smart friends. Susie Hansen and the incomparable Pamela Marshall made the text precise and clear and saved me from confusion and mistakes. As for Tina Bennett, I would suggest that she be named head of Microsoft or that she run for president or some other similar appointment so that her intelligence, knowledge and generosity can help solve the world's problems - but then I would no longer have agent. Lastly, I thank my parents, Joyce and Graham Gladwell. They read this book as only a mother and father can: with passion, open-mindedness, and love. Thank you.