My Review of the Blink The Power of Thinking Without Thinking Essay

I was skeptical when I choose a book to review. In the end I chose to review Blink The Power of Thinking Without Thinking for one reason, Blink sounded different. As I read into the book, I realized that this ability to thin-slice was something that I had been doing my whole life. Gladwell states that "When we thin-slice, when we recognize patterns and make snap judgments, we do this process of editing unconsciously" (66). My goal for this review is to share and compare some of my experiences that apply to the main concepts that are in Blink. I have two main points of comparison I would like to make they are thin slicing as an interviewer and debater, and how my different views are always seen as negative.
My first point deals with my experience as a debater and interviewer. Throughout high school, I went to numerous competitions for my debate skills. Debate is challenging to most because it requires the ability to assess multiple items and people at the same time. For a typical round, I have to assess my opponent, my opponent's arguments, my arguments, and the judge. The assessments are all-judgmental based and go on very little evidence. The slightest nod of a judge's head or squinting of their eyes, could lead me to rework and reevaluate my entire arguments to best suit the judge.
A main concept in Blink, is when Gladwell talks about the two military experts having a mock battle and how the underdog with less information won the battle. Gladwell says in that main concept, "extra information is more than useless. It's harmful. It confuses the issues" (64). I certainly can agree and relate. In debate, I could not operate if I found massive amounts of issues in my opponent's arguments. On the other hand, if I only could find one or two mistakes in the entire argument structure I would be more likely to win. I was able to focus more time and energy on those one or two things than I could with the opponent that had countless issues in their arguments. In the past, I have lost to some horrendous arguments just because I could not keep focus. I was like a racecar trying to go from one problem to the next. The problem with doing that is I never really get to make hard-hitting attacks on my opponent arguments just scratches all around it. The more issues I could find the worse I did in the debate round.
I have been interviewed for many different things from awards, to jobs, and to internships. I have always won or received an offer for the position. When they ask random questions, I am always able to respond instantly with a good answer. I am able to thin-slice in less than two seconds and have a suitable answer. Most people sit, compare, and create answer choices. I believe that it is unnecessary to do this to get the answer.